News JVTech Black Mirror had it all planned: France will allow AI-powered surveillance videos
Did you think “smart” video surveillance was China’s prerogative or series like Black Mirror or Person of Interest? Make no mistake, in view of the next Summer Olympics, to be held in Paris in 2024, France will also be equipped with such a system that will send shivers down your spine.
It’s official: France will allow AI-powered video surveillance
The bill organizing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has just completed its parliamentary journey. After his time in the Senate the National Assembly has just passed the text that provides for the use of so-called intelligent video surveillance in Article 7. The elected representatives of the presidential majority, the right and the extreme right all voted in favor of the text, while MPs on the left side of the chamber fear possible abuses.
What to expect The executive branch plans to test a variety of new security-related technologies before, during, and maybe even after the Paris Olympics. The first experiments could start very soon, once the law is promulgated.
Some surveillance cameras will therefore soon be supported by algorithms, artificial intelligence. According to the government, this is not about identifying and tracking specific people, but about recognizing potentially dangerous situationssuch as a mass movement.
One of the ideas behind this bill is to establish a legal framework within which it will be possible to use AI to assist law enforcement. From the street to public transport“The AI of the Olympic Games” could be deployed more or less anywhere as soon as the state deems it necessary.
Although the majority has assured that the data is recorded by these cameras will not be biometric data which allows a person to be isolated and put on trial, part of the opposition asserts that nothing in the law that has just been passed prevents this. NUPES members are also against it Private companies can use such devices.
In addition to intelligent cameras, the text provides for their use other high-tech objects related to security. For example, we can invoke the HELMA-P, a laser cannon able to shoot drones from more than 3 kilometers away, or even the body scanner (like those found in airports) that can now be deployed in any location that can accommodate more than 300 people.
Development of artificial intelligence: France is not yet China
Such devices can only remind of the practices of the pioneering country in terms of intelligent video surveillance: China. Chinese men and women have understood for some time that Big Brother is watching them.
During the organization of the Olympic Games, China introduced AI-based video surveillance to the world.. That was in 2008. Since then, Beijing has been investing astronomical sums, 60 billion a year, in artificial intelligence to push mass surveillance even further. Today, more than a billion cameras are watching the Middle Kingdom.
Photo of Joseph Chan during the 2019 Hong Kong protests
In France, a possible collection of biometric data is feared. In China, it is accepted by the population and even quite well accepted: everyone is on record. Whether at a vending machine, in a restaurant or at the entrance to a store, most Chinese have to scan their face (with a smartphone or otherwise) several times a day. Thanks to this huge database, cameras spread all over the city can very accurately identify a person even in the middle of a large crowd.
Some Chinese cameras can go even further. Thanks to the development of AI, there are now algorithms that can do this recognize a person without seeing their face. Overtrained AIs can tell who you are simply by analyzing your gait. Better (or worse, depending on your point of view), a bit as in minority reportChina uses its cameras to… crime prevention. A sudden change in body temperature detected by a thermal imaging camera can be a sign. The same thermal imaging cameras were used during the health crisis to identify the sick.
