AI is increasingly being employed by police forces around the world, with the intention of enhancing public safety and improving law enforcement effectiveness. It offers several potential benefits, including deterring crime, improving investigation efficiency, enhancing situational awareness, and aiding in traffic management and enforcement. On UK roads, for example, AI technology is being used to automatically issue fines to drivers who throw garbage or litter on the street.

French police are also testing AI-powered cameras ahead of their planned use for security at the Olympic Games. The AI has been trained to detect eight types of events: traffic that goes against the flow, the presence of people in prohibited zones, crowd movement, abandoned packages, the presence or use of weapons, overcrowding, a body on the ground and fire. As we can see, the ability of AI systems to understand complex movements and events is increasing rapidly.

Video surveillance is being used also in the restaurant industry. According to Forbes, dozens of Taco Bell, KFC, and Dairy Queen locations have begun utilizing a system to track and analyze workers’ interactions with customers. The AI model uses a collection of streams of video and audio data to review each employee’s working status throughout the day. The information is also used to assign bonuses to anyone on the job who is “upselling” products.

It’s clear that the use of artificial intelligence in surveillance has some tangible benefits. For example, it can be used to help prevent terrorist or criminal events during large public gatherings, and help hold citizens accountable when breaking traffic or other laws. That said, in some surveillance uses there are some very real concerns around privacy and employee rights. While AI surveillance advances can help keep people safe, this technology needs to be closely monitored by government bodies, especially when it’s in the hands of private companies. In this way, we can ensure this technology is used responsibly and follows certain standards of ethics and human rights.