AI Surveillance

Protecting Privacy Rights in a Watched World

AI Surveillance

overview

AI surveillance affects many parts of everyday life, from jobs to healthcare. Surveillance technologies like trackers and biometrics can be built on top of existing cameras and online tools. Companies and governments that create and implement these technologies often avoid being held responsible for negative effects including misidentification and privacy violations.

To the extent that you do not trust your government, you do not want your government to build these systems.

Wired

There Are Spying Eyes Everywhere—and Now They Share a Brain

AI Surveillance

In the World

Police Surveillance

Police are collecting data and using AI to help solve and even predict crimes. However, using facial recognition technologies, biometrics, and predictive policing tools can lead to unfair targeting and wrongful arrests.

🏆In 2020, Robert Williams was wrongly arrested in Detroit after a facial recognition technology identified him as a suspect. He later settled with Detroit PD for $300,000 and helped change how they use this technology.
In 2021, Chicago used evidence from a controversial gunshot detection system called ShotSpotter to wrongly convict a bystander, Michael Williams, of a crime.

Government Surveillance

Many countries around the world are using AI to improve their national and internal spying systems, using tools to target and track persons of interest.

Since the early 2010s, Silicon Valley tech companies have created real time AI systems that use cameras, drones, and satellites to help the government search for and track people around the world.
Vice's Motherboard group investigated how the U.S. government was buying data from popular apps, including dating apps, Craigslist, and a Muslim prayer app, to track people's location.

Video Surveillance

Video captured by security cameras, video doorbells, satellite, and drone can be used to monitor people and places. AI can make it faster and easier to track people, and governments are using this technology to locate foreign targets.

🏆In 2020, Google engineers protested against a drone surveillance project called Project Maven, pushing the company to eventually stop working on it.
🏆The U.S. Federal Trade Commission banned Rite Aid from using facial recognition security systems after it falsely flagged innocent people, especially women and people of color, as criminals.

Data and Location Surveillance

Personal and location data collected through apps and websites can be purchased and used to spy on people by institutions such as the police, employers, and schools.

🏆Planned Parenthood created a new period tracking app, Spot On, to protect user privacy after concerns that governments might purchase data from other apps to target people.
Using bluetooth beacons, Syracuse University tracks its students' attendance. These kinds of student-tracking systems are raising concerns about student surveillance and autonomy.

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If you believe you’ve been harmed by Artificial Intelligence, please fill out our harms report form. We will get back to you within 48 hours on weekdays and 72 over the weekend.

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If you are seeking legal advice or representation, consider reaching out to an ACLU office in your respective state.

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AI Surveillance

resources

Harms resource

AJL’s Gender Shades Justice Award

The Gender Shades Justice Award recognizes individuals who experienced an AI harm, spoke out about their experiences, and worked to prevent future harm. The inaugural award was presented to Robert Williams for his efforts in addressing Detroit PD’s use of facial recognition technologies.

Harms resource

White Collar Crime Risk Zones

White Collar Crime Risk Zones is a machine learning-enabled map that predicts where financial crimes are likely to happen in the U.S. It was created in response to predictive policing systems that unfairly target communities of color.

Harms resource

StopSpying.org

StopSpying.org is a project with Amnesty International’s Ban the Scan Campaign that informs people about global surveillance tech. You can sign their petition against mass surveillance worldwide.

Harms resource

Project for Privacy and Surveillance

The Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability works to protect privacy and civil rights. Their Scorecard rates members of Congress on their privacy and surveillance policy.

Harms resource

Electronic Frontier Foundation Privacy Resources

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit helping individuals defend their online privacy with tools like the Privacy Badger browser add-on to block online trackers, the Spot the Surveillance AR tool that teaches you to identify surveillance technologies, and the Atlas of Surveillance.

Harms resource

Fight for the Future Campaigns

Fight for the Future is a group of activists and technologists who work on AI and data privacy projects like Stop Data Broker Abuse, Cancel Ring Nation, Stop Endangering Abortion Seekers, and Cancel Amazon + Police Partnerships.

Harms resource

American Dragnet

The American Dragnet report from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology investigates how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses surveillance data.

Harms resource

NYU Policing Project

The NYU School of Law’s Policing Project promotes fairness in law enforcement by working on legal and policy solutions to help regulate the use of AI by the police.

Harms resource

Predictive Policing Explained

In 2020, the Brennan Center released a predictive policing report explaining what the technology is and major concerns with its increased use.