S.T.O.P. Condemns NYPD AI Bodycam Surveillance

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For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns NYPD AI Bodycam Surveillance (New York, NY 10/19/2023) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, condemned NYPD’s launch of a pilot program using artificial intelligence to assess police bodycam footage. NYPD announced they contracted with Truleo, a private firm that uses AI to analyze audio from bodycams to evaluate police conduct. The civil rights group warned that the technology transforms bodycams from a police accountability tool to a form of mass surveillance. SEE: Gothamist - The NYPD is using AI to analyze body camera footage. Civil rights activists have privacy concerns. https://gothamist.com/news/the-nypd-is-using-ai-to-analyze-body-camera-footage-civil-rights-activists-have-privacy-concerns “Bodycam footage already distorts reality by favoring the perspective of the officer,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Communications Director Will Owen. “Combine that with AI, and bodycams become an especially powerful tool of mass surveillance, collecting some of New Yorkers’ most sensitive data that they are often asked to share during police interactions. Too often, software marketed as police accountability tools end up reinforcing police narratives, and we can’t rely on technosolutionist gimmicks to magically fix systemic biases.” SEE: New York Times - How Bodycams Distort Real Life https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/08/opinion/bodycams-privacy.html NYPD’s announcement comes after New York State lawmakers recently proposed legislation that would require state corrections and parole officers to don body-worn cameras. SEE: Fast Company - POV: NY prisons are in crisis. Body cams won’t help https://www.fastcompany.com/90926365/pov-ny-prisons-are-in-crisis-body-cams-wont-help The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. --END-- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.