In 2016 I was interviewed, as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Body-Worn Camera Program Manager, by Karen Weise for an article she was writing for Bloomberg Businessweek entitled “Will a Camera on Every Cop Help Save Lives or Just Make a Tech Company Richer?” (July 18, 2016 edition). While the article mostly focused on Axon and its business development strategy, she also examined the current efficacy and future protentional of body-worn cameras. The following is an excerpt from the article:
“From where Zehnder sits, it’s obvious that big data is the next frontier for Taser and policing. ‘Some of it is very Orwellian and very scary and will rattle the cages of civil libertarians around the country, but it’s coming,’ he says. Zehnder riffs on how facial-recognition technology might be deployed: An officer could patrol the Las Vegas Strip with a camera streaming to the cloud, ‘and there is real-time analysis, and then, in my earpiece, there is, “that guy you just passed 20 feet ago has an outstanding warrant.” Wow.”
That paragraph resurfaced for several years, every couple of months in the media, as an example of how that potential technology could be abused by police, infringe on civil rights and turn America into a surveillance society. The technology needed to accomplish the example scenario I used wasn’t technologically feasible in 2016. Today, however, it is here. One example is Iveda Solutions, Inc., headquartered in Mesa, AZ., “a global leader in cloud-based AI technology” which just announced major updates to its VEMO body camera. The following quote from the announcement published on the website, iot for all, reads:
“Richard Tsay, Director of Product Development at Iveda, explained the impact of VEMO in the field: “An officer wearing VEMO while patrolling can receive real-time facial recognition alerts for any suspects in view. Even if the officer isn’t actively searching for a particular suspect, VEMO captures the relevant data and immediately notifies the station if a match is detected. The same goes for license plate recognition.” He continued, “As sophisticated as the technology is, it’s versatile and accessible enough to be utilized at all levels. For instance, universities can deploy VEMO to easily verify parking permits during routine patrols. At Iveda, our goal is to bring the power of advanced surveillance technology to everyone, simplifying daily operations while making the world a safer place for all.”
The question now is, as AI technology expands with body cameras and in law enforcement in general, how will this be perceived by the American public. Certainly, in 2016 it didn’t seem palatable. However, as “AI” has rapidly become more widespread and generally accepted, will there be pushback similar to a decade ago or will this rapidly developing technology, that is already in the marketplace, just become part of the public’s acceptance of our burgeoning surveillance society? And what are the implications for law enforcement? Time will tell but that debate isn’t too far away.
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