New surveillance systems predict the future SVT News

These ideas may remind us of Minority Report, the film in which Tom Cruise seeks the help of psychics to see the future. However, here it is about so-called artificial intelligence with surveillance cameras, microphones and sensors in areas where you want to be able to predict crime.

Analyzes eye movements

At a secret location in the northwestern United States, a computer program is being tested that analyzes people's movements, changes in body temperature and tone of voice, as well as the rhythm and speed of people's speech. The system also monitors breathing patterns, eye movements, and blink rate.

Can be installed at airports

The idea is that these indicators combined should be able to predict which people in a given area are planning to commit a crime. The system could, for example, be installed at an airport, conference center or sports arena. Or with a view of the streets and squares of a large city. The system is called FAST, or Future Attribute Scanning Technology.

Internal security behind one of the systems

The US Homeland Security Agency said in a statement that the technology can be used, for example, to detect whether someone is trying to smuggle unauthorized equipment into a certain area, and that it is using volunteers to test whether the system is able to detect “suspicious activity.” .

Also tested in England

In Great Britain, a similar system called “Crush” (“Crime Reduction Using Statistical History”) is being tested. The software uses historical data to predict areas where crimes are most likely to be committed, for example, in a large city like London.

The number of crimes decreased by 31 percent

Police authorities in the US city of Memphis have been testing a similar system for a long time and patrolling the areas indicated by the program – and claim that it has succeeded in reducing the number of crimes in the areas in question by 31 percent, according to the Observer.

– This is a proactive tool rather than a reaction after crimes have occurred, police officer John Williams tells the newspaper. The system places police in the same area at the same time crimes are committed.

Developed by IBM

The software was developed by IBM, which has reportedly invested more than $11 billion in such analytical software over the past four years.

– Technology is only doing what the police have always done, IBM's Mark Cleverley tells The Telegraph. You look for patterns to see what is likely to happen next. The difference is the size on which the system operates, and the speed of analysis.

It also targeted depopulated areas

In the city of Portsmouth, England, the police installed six cameras that use a “predictive” system. They are directed to empty areas, such as parking lots, to warn of “suspicious activity.” In Portsmouth, there are already more than 1,000 surveillance cameras in streets and squares, and the new software could be installed on up to 600 of them, according to The Telegraph. The system is convenient for employees who monitor the monitors.

“It's like a night watchman,” says municipal representative Jason Fazakerley about the technology. But this guard never blinks, never takes a break, and is never bored.

Costs 250,000 SEK

The cost of the system, which can monitor video streams of 100 cameras, is about 250,000 SEK.

Can be used by advertising companies

Commercial applications are also numerous. On the one hand, systems like this could warn of pickpockets and shoplifters, and on the other hand, advertising companies could use similar technology to allow TV advertising displays to communicate directly with people walking by.

“Always make us all suspects.”

Many human rights organizations have a negative attitude towards new technology.

– Installing Hollywood sci-fi in our car parks cannot replace real police officers, Sabina Frediani from the Freedom Campaign tells The Telegraph. This always makes us all suspects. The idea that we should all be recorded and have our behavior interpreted by machines, and that you should be the focus of the police if you act “strangely” is more a moral fantasy than a realistic contribution to the rule of law in a free world. Community.

Nanook B

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Twitter: @nanok