Artificial Intelligence is transforming the world we live in. The incorporation of AI is affecting many aspects of our lives. Its use is also enhancing surveillance abilities, allowing organisations and governments to improve their security. However, there are also risks and concerns surrounding AI surveillance.
The market is expanding, with technology companies heavily investing in R&D. China leads the way, most notably with Huawei, Hikvision, Dahua and ZTE, supplying this technology into many countries. American companies such as IBM, Cisco, and Japan NEC are also some of the largest in the world today.
What are the benefits of AI surveillance?
· It is a powerful surveillance tool with advanced features, such as accuracy, eliminating human error and efficiency.
· AI surveillance can process a vast amount of data, a system that never tires and is continually improving.
How can AI surveillance be used?
· Smart City and Safe City
A smart city is a technology-intensive region, with sensors everywhere and highly efficient public services. This is made possible thanks to the information gathered in real-time by thousands of interconnected AI devices.
· Facial recognition systems
Facial recognition is a biometric technology that uses cameras, video, or still images and matches stored or live footage of individuals with images from a database.
· Smart policing
The objective of smart policing is to process a large quantity of data distinguished by geographic location, historic arrest, types of crimes, biometrics and social media. This allows them to respond faster to criminal acts and make accurate predictions about future illegal activity.
Risks
As with any growing technology, there are inherent associated risks. However, in AI, the case is far more complicated. Lack of regulations and often a thin line between lawful and unlawful surveillance only add to the risks associated with this fast-expanding technology.
The data is storable, accessible and searchable, and its disclosure to and use by State authorities is mainly unregulated. As a result, analysis of this data can be both highly revelatory and invasive, particularly when information is combined and aggregated.
As such, states are increasingly drawing on communications data to support law enforcement or national security investigations.
States are also seeking the preservation and retention of communication data, enabling them to conduct historical surveillance.
Privacy
The spread of AI surveillance continues to grow at a rapid pace. However, AI also gives rise to many troublesome ethical questions. For example, many experts express concerns about facial recognition error rates and heightened false positives for minority populations.
The public is becoming increasingly aware of algorithmic bias in AI training datasets and their prejudicial impact on predictive policing algorithms and other analytic tools used by law enforcement.
The 2020 pandemic only accelerated the growth of these technologies, embedding them further in governance and politics. The time is now to build balanced AI surveillance systems and debate policies and regulations.
Are you looking to improve your surveillance?
Here at Jansta Associates Limited, we serve our clients with a vast array of engineering consulting services. So, if you are thinking of deploying a new technology or design or updating existing surveillance systems, we can help you navigate this complex subject. Want to find out more? Get in touch today.
Very well written, enlightening, alarming for criminals, frightening if used by organisations, institutions or states for purposes other than ethical, moral and justified means, that do not persecute or otherwise interfere with human rights and a fair, just and democratic society.