CTA Using Artificial Intelligence Surveillance Program to Identify Guns in Stations
Earlier this month the Chicago Transit Authority (“CTA”) announced that it was currently one month into a year long pilot program with the private company ZeroEyes, a company that pairs surveillance videos with artificial intelligence to detect firearms. As implemented as part of the pilot program, when the AI technology software detects a possible firearm, a human employee is then alerted who reviews the footage for accuracy before they then alert the Chicago Police Department, the CTA and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications at the same time. Currently the CTA has paired the AI program with 250 cameras at various stations around the city, though it declined to identify which stations citing safety concerns. CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said in a statement that “this added measure of protection provides additional peace of mind to everyone.” The US Department of Homeland Security recently reviewed the company’s technology and in a report stated that a group of first responders found that the technology was in fact “intuitive,” but advocates worry about the lack of public discussion and the effectiveness of the technology, particularly when weighed against potential violations to individuals civil liberties. ACLU Illinois spokesman Ed Yohnka in response to the news warned against the use of more surveillance tools, particularly when he believes these technologies, “all come with allure of adding more safety, but they never seem to deliver on that promise.”
Adoption of New AI Technology Comes Just After a Separate AI Company Settles Privacy Suit in Illinois
While the CTA is seeking out the use of new AI technology, another AI startup, Clearview AI, reached a settlement in a consolidated class action lawsuit in a Chicago federal courthouse after it was accused of violating the privacy rights of millions of Americans. While the company does not admit any wrongdoing, it would allow individuals who were affected by the software, “virtually anyone in the United States whose face appears on the internet” according to lawyers behind the settlement, to seek a stake in the company. The facial recognition company scans and collects data from the internet and social media platforms of people’s faces and is used by law enforcement to find potential matches. The company already reached a separate settlement with the ACLU in 2022 which forbade the company from allowing most private businesses and individuals from accessing the database and prohibited Illinois state level government agencies from utilizing the service for a period of five years. While some defenders against mass surveillance may see the elimination of one company from the state as a victory, it is clear from the CTA’s recent announcement that new AI technologies are ready to fill that space in one way or another and the rise of artificial intelligence in our society and its role in policing seems almost inevitable at this point. The fact that it was implemented for a month public discussion or awareness only heightens anxieties about what new technology may be currently being implemented. But as we have covered previously, these technologies have the potential to be a violation of your constitutional rights. Anyone who is subject to criminal charges stemming from the use of these new technologies should hire an experienced attorney who is well versed in the limits of police powers and can fight to protect their liberty and constitutional rights.The post Illinois Government Agencies Use of Controversial AI Technology first appeared on Darryl A. Goldberg.
