The ACLU has published a report "on a $3.2 billion industry building a technology known as 'video analytics', which is starting to augment surveillance cameras around the world and has the potential to turn them into just that kind of nightmarish army of unblinking watchers."
Using cutting-edge, deep learning-based AI, the science is moving so fast that early versions of this technology are already starting to enter our lives. Some of our cars now come equipped with dashboard cameras that can sound alarms when a driver starts to look drowsy. Doorbell cameras today can alert us when a person appears on our doorstep. Cashier-less stores use AI-enabled cameras that monitor customers and automatically charge them when they pick items off the shelf.
In the report, we looked at where this technology has been deployed, and what capabilities companies are claiming they can offer. We also reviewed scores of papers by computer vision scientists and other researchers to see what kinds of capabilities are being envisioned and developed. What we found is that the capabilities that computer scientists are pursuing, if applied to surveillance and marketing, would create a world of frighteningly perceptive and insightful computer watchers monitoring our lives.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Tuesday June 25 2019, @12:25PM (4 children)
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DMme2Aya_6Bc [youtube.com]
will your house refuse to let you in when you're drunk?
Or..refuse to let you out?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 25 2019, @12:47PM (1 child)
Why would you need to be drunk for it to refuse to let you into your house? Didn't somebody's cloud go down recently and lock people out of their houses?
(Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Tuesday June 25 2019, @04:00PM
I *specifically* got at least *one* digital lock with physical key to avoid that.
It does seem *really* stupid to have access to one's house be remotely disabled...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 25 2019, @02:00PM
"Or..refuse to let you out?"
That's a good excuse for kalsarikännit.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 25 2019, @04:02PM
> Or..refuse to let you out?
You say that like its a bad thing.
What doesn't kill me makes me weaker for next time.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Tuesday June 25 2019, @01:37PM
As long as I get access to that data and cameras and can watch these CEO's and the executives and can opt-out and the opt-out is court enforced and the CEO's and executives will go to jail and give me tons of money for violating my right to privacy.
Np problem.
Otherwise.... problem.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday June 25 2019, @02:01PM (5 children)
Government will just outsource the camera operation to the many businesses who will have them, and use warrants to get the data when needed.
Or if they want to do the cool warrantless program, hack the businesses?
The cameras are already everywhere. The AI sauce just drops in to systems controlling the cameras and storing footage. The ACLU can't stop this.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by inertnet on Tuesday June 25 2019, @02:08PM (4 children)
In my opinion augmented video is probably even easier to tamper with. It won't be long until deepfake surveillance video's are going to appear as 'proof' of whatever needs to be proven.
How do you fight those?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday June 25 2019, @02:25PM (3 children)
The only way to fight it is for people stop believing video "evidence" on its own.
But considering how many people believe aliens have visited earth based on a grainy photo of a dinner plate with a flashlight on it... we are fucked.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Tuesday June 25 2019, @03:03PM (2 children)
Well that's no problem: Now we have "surveillance footage", a testilying cop, and a couple of homeless people we gave some subs to say what we wanted them to say in court. And if for some reason that's insufficient, we'll get a crooked examiner to announce some sort of "partial" fingerprint match on something.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday June 25 2019, @03:12PM (1 child)
If the state is determined to lock you up, they are not going to bother faking video evidence.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Tuesday June 25 2019, @03:25PM
The fake video evidence is to not only lock you up, but to assassinate your character so they can also discredit any ideas or causes you happened to support, and also prevent pesky Amnesty International campaigns for your release and such.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday June 25 2019, @02:13PM (8 children)
Start worrying when these robot guards reach insect size and smaller. Actually, stop worrying at that point and start drinking because it'll be far too late to care.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Freeman on Tuesday June 25 2019, @03:23PM (1 child)
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/robotics/insect-drone-camera-flies-like-bee [asme.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday June 26 2019, @09:46PM
Interesting article that just popped up on Ars: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/06/flying-insect-like-robot-flits-closer-to-independent-flight/ [arstechnica.com]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 25 2019, @04:09PM (2 children)
> Start worrying when these robot guards reach insect size and smaller.
At insect size, assuming they cannot overwhelm you with quantity, you can at least impose costs by squishing those tiny pests. Or spray Krylon on them or something. Super glue traps.
> or smaller
That might be worrying. But then you start thinking of other ways to fight. Sprays, glues, other chemical or electrical / magnetic traps.
What doesn't kill me makes me weaker for next time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 25 2019, @06:42PM
Hair spray works very well on tiny robots.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday June 25 2019, @11:45PM
I'm thinking they'll start arriving on every doorstep. If one should fail to phone home, the occupier would be automatically held responsible, charged many thousands of dollars, and / or be sent for "re-education".
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 1) by jmichaelhudsondotnet on Tuesday June 25 2019, @06:30PM (1 child)
'and smaller.'
Nanobot tracking. Lookup the countries and companies into nanotech, some of them have a history of very dirty tricks.
What if they put them in food or water? What if they could track you down like a tick from a mile away?
A permanent bug in your body at all times. There will not be a news story to warn you. (at this rate...you are lucky i have the guts to even write this)
Who would argue that isn't being threatened?
What would it take to prevent this future?
(besides me writing this and risking being first on the list of intended recipients)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 25 2019, @09:48PM
Nobody is coming to kill the brave J. Michael Hudson because he had a brainfart about nanobots.
I welcome the introduction of these nanobots. They hold great medical potential.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 25 2019, @11:39PM
OK then. I will.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 25 2019, @02:51PM (3 children)
Can't wait for ED-209 coming to the streets.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 25 2019, @04:06PM (2 children)
At least nobody thought of assigning ED-209 as a TSA groper.
Oh wait. Drat! Now they know of that application and will use ED-209 in that role.
What doesn't kill me makes me weaker for next time.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 25 2019, @09:14PM (1 child)
You have 40seconds to remove your panties...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 25 2019, @09:18PM
Upon compliance, it doesn't recognize it and just firehoses synthetic semen at the target.