AI surveillance is watching us.

Is it ethical for police, government or other law enforcement agencies to use artificial intelligence for surveillance? These days we see the cameras everywhere, on top of street and traffic lights, on the sides of buildings and inside most businesses.

Law enforcement has access to many of these cameras. There are even what they call, real time crime centers, where there’s a room full of officers monitoring huge walls, that are full of video screens displaying what the cameras are recording.

This video shows some examples of how artificial intelligence is already being used. It explains how AI can now find individuals in a crowd it deems to be suspicious. It can then track them from camera to camera and place to place. So I hope the AI doesn’t find you to be suspicious…

AI uses facial recognition to find you.

It’s really pretty impressive, some of the AI has facial recognition, and the ability to do things like show only your requested items, for example, you can describe the type and color a vehicle, and it will display only those that you described. They call this descriptive artificial intelligence.

The AI is even capable of running many of them at the same time, superimposed over each other, in order to save you time searching.

Artificial Intelligence that’s capable of learning.

Some artificial intelligence is even capable of learning, after weeks of observing patterns, what is usual or unusual behavior, and then it can only record what it considers to be unusual.

So here’s the debate. Some people think this sort of AI is a great thing and that it keeps us safer, while others feel it’s an invasion of our privacy, and don’t like being recorded when they’re not doing anything wrong.

Massive Utah data base and Fusion Centers.

Taking it to the next level, they have these things that are called fusion centers, where the law enforcement agencies can share all this information, and to top it all off, they built a data base center in Utah that is so massive, that it’s capable of storing information on all of us.

Here’s a video below by the Wall Street Journal who did a nice job showing how law enforcement is using artificial intelligence for surveillance, click the image to watch.

China uses AI to monitor its citizens.

Many people see what’s going on in China, and they don’t want that type of authoritarianism in their own country. China doesn’t only monitor its citizens network over 200 million cameras, but it also assigns a social credit score to everyone, based on your behavior.

This social credit score determines what you are able to do. They say that the trusted will be able to move about freely, while the discredited will have a hard time taking a single step.

China is one of the world leaders in artificial intelligence technologies. One thing is for certain though, They are definitely the king of the hill, when it comes to a police state type of surveillance of their own citizens.

China’s social credit scores.

Here’s a video about China’s AI Surveillance and Social Credit Scores.

We really have to pay attention to China, otherwise this type of surveillance, combined with advanced learning artificial intelligence that just keeps getting smarter every day, may be coming to a neighborhood near you.

Chongqing China is really one of the worst, this is where they’re rolling it out, or testing it if you will. Many of their citizens are monitored and not allowed to go more than 300 meters from their home.

The police in Chongqing have these special AI equipped glasses with facial recognition, they’ll point you out if your social credit score is not very high.

Chongqing China, facial recognition AI glasses.

A video of AI surveillance in Chongqing China,

When you see the way the Chinese citizens are tracked, controlled and assigned a social credit score that completely controls their whole life, people should recognize this for what it is. Remember, you’re going to be told that this is for your own good, it’s for your safety of course.

This reminds me most of a famous Benjamin Franklin quote, he said: ” people willing to trade their freedom for temporary security, deserve neither, and will lose both. "

Dubai’s AI RoboCop’s uses facial recognition & flirts.

Wait till you see Dubai’s artificial intelligence gizmos, they have flirting robots with facial recognition that can communicate and send your information to the officers back at the precinct. They even have automated vehicles and a hover drone that the officer can fly around on.

Dubai also has a huge Monitoring Center where they can view all of the cameras, it’s equipped with an artificial intelligence system that is supposed to be able to preemptively predict crime. Wow, Minority Report anyone?

But wait, it gets better, they have a drone equipped with artificial intelligence and a camera with sensors that can detect your vital signs. They say it can actually measure your body temperature and blood pressure.

Law enforcement UAS, AI drone surveillance.

There are Sheriff departments and other law enforcement agencies that use artificially intelligent drones for surveillance. These drones use a combination a GPS and Google Maps to fly to a designated location that was pre-programmed in.

A drone will fly the around the target and get a complete photographic surveillance 3D image of the property. Some of these drones are even equipped with infrared cameras, however, they claim that they’re not able to see through your walls or look through your windows.

The video above shows an NBC channel 8 report Clearwater Police Department, and how they use drone surveillance to help them in real live situations. They did say it’s not legal for them to use it though, just for standard surveillance. They need to obtain a search warrant first, because of privacy laws, before a drone can be used for surveillance.

They also show the Polk county sheriff’s Department using their drone, and explain how they can get it in the air faster, they can use it more places, and it costs much less to use then their helicopter.

Military, Police, video and underwater drones

I’ve included a video below that shows five separate drones that can all be used for different kinds of surveillance. The first two are for military and police surveillance. The other three are more for filming and fun, even an underwater drone.

The filming drones have such high quality cameras, they could be used for really long distance surveillance. The one for military use is kind of scary, they are trying to put it in a good light and sell it as and alternative to sending live people into battle.

Armed drones – Used by military only?

This sounds good, but it is still an armed drone that would be capable of shooting much more accurately then any person could. With this, the next most obvious question is, are they ever going to make a drone like this with artificial intelligence that can make decisions on its own?

Of course these drones can really serve some wonderful purposes. So how do we keep them from being used by people or groups with bad intentions? Just take a minute and imagine that drone that’s intended for military use, falling into the wrong hands, or operating under one of these super artificial intelligences that are capable of learning, and acting on it’s own judgment.

Conclusion for all of the AI for surveillance watching us.

The use of AI in conjunction with other technologies such as drones, can be so beneficial to us as a society, and be a great asset for law enforcement. I think we can all see the flip side to that coin though. The goal here has to be, to keep this out of the hands of the bad actors.

Yeah, not sure that’s possible, it already seems to be to late in that respect, as far as China goes. but we all have to pay attention and not make it easy for them to make that a reality for the rest of us. Don’t let them feed you that line please, “it’s for your safety”. Remember what Benjamin Franklin said.

One other concern, this sort of surveillance state going hand in hand with the high tech, super athletic robots that are being created now, along with machinery such as that armed drone pictured above, it would be insanity to every give any sort of learning AI access to these things.

The best way to avert this sort of thing getting closer to home and our families, is to shine some light on it. Tell your friends, cause it really only take a little light, to wash away a whole lot of darkness. Just be aware guys, and speak up if you see any of this nonsense headed our way.