Surveillance

Category: When Analytics Works

Analytics and AI require data above all, and so in order to support this need institutions and industries often depend on surveillance. "Along with private entities, law enforcement and other government agencies are among the first actors to deploy automated surveillance systems. However, even though automated surveillance systems promise to bring various benefits like enhanced security, when in wrong hands, these systems can violate civil liberties." (UC Berkeley, 2019)

Surveillance, however, is not an all-or nothing proposition. "We can and must have both effective law enforcement and rigorous privacy protections. Eternal vigilance will be required to secure our fundamental rights, including the right to privacy in relation to all public spaces, including those found online and in other virtual spaces" (Cavoukian, 2013:22). Moreover, as seen above, analytics and AI produce numerous benefits. But it's a question of degree. We're happy to have the police officer watch over the public square, however, "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation" (CBC, 1967).

That's easier to say than to practice. Once surveillance becomes normal, its use expands. In San Diego, for example, smart street lights are experiencing 'mission creep'. "The San Diego Police Department has said it accesses smart streetlight footage only to help solve the most serious, violent crimes. But a closer look at the data shows that investigators have also used the streetlights in cases related to vandalism, illegal dumping and destruction of city property" (Marx, 2020). Private actors, as well, employ surveillance for their own purposes. For example, Amazon-owned Whole Foods is tracking its employees with a heat map tool that ranks stores most at risk of unionizing (Peterson, 2020). And a company called Splunk helps companies monitor people working remotely (Tully, 2020).

And once surveillance becomes normal - so normal it's in your street lights - it can have an impact on rights and freedoms. People who know they are on camera behave differently that they would in private. According to security expert Bruce Schneier, "The fact that you won't do things, that you will self-censor, are the worst effects of pervasive surveillance.... The idea is that if you don't know where the line is, and the penalty for crossing it is severe, you will stay far away from it." (Shaw, 2017)

Examples and Articles

Ariaâ€™s school experience in 2030?
"a scenario of what a 15 year old girlâ€™s school experience might be like in 2030 ... To create this scenario, [Jenny] adapted some work done by Neil Selwyn and colleagues" Direct Link

Surveillance Analytics â€“ Powered by IDOL
AI facial detection and recognition, AI event analysis, AI automatic number plate recognition. Direct Link

Plurality
Short film that describes a hypothetical future New York City that is covered by multiple surveillance applications. Made in 2012 projecting a scenario of NYC in 2023. Direct Link

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