America's Largest Manufacturer Of Police Body Cameras Looks To Study Benefits and Risks of Facial Recognition
Taser International, a company that's known for making eponymous electric stun guns that are used by the police around the country, last year announced that they were going to change their name to Axon. Along with their move to change their name, the hope was that it could help them to position themselves as a dominant player in the body camera market for police in the nation.
Last year, they announced their initiative to see every police officer in the country outfitted with one of their cameras.
The Chief Executive Officer for Axon, Rick Smith, had previously mentioned that the earlier name used (Taser) had been limiting for the brand because it associated the company with weapons. Now with the Axon name change, they feel it better helps to market their other products such as their software for managing video and their cameras.
For the police departments that go with the free trial, they would also be receiving special training, as well as a storage subscription for the one year. The trial is estimated to be worth roughly $1700 for the year. You can now find many different departments around the country where police have been outfitted with body cameras.
Now, Axon is also going to be looking to investigate the risks and benefits of facial recognition.
Over 30 different civil rights groups have written a letter, urging the company to agree that certain products are unethical to deploy, and that all digital technologies will require a thorough ethical review, among other suggestions.
What could be used as a tool to help foster transparency with law enforcement, can also be used to further strengthen an unjust surveillance system that is aimed against the people.
Other reports suggest opposite, that some communities have seen a decline in complaint reports for example, after the cameras started to be worn. However, even if they do neglect to influence officers to behave in a more professional manner, the footage from these cameras has proven to be helpful in many different circumstances to uncover incidents of corruption and wrongdoing.
According to the Director of AI and Machine Learning for Axon, they aren't working specifically on facial recognition for body cameras at this time. Although, they do admit that they see the value in that and they insist that they've formed their ethics board to help guide and balance their efforts in seeking to deploy this technology.
Pics:
Pixabay
Sources:
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/science-and-tech/body-cam-maker-to-study-facial-recognition-risks-and-benefits
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/axon-s-police-body-cams-could-be-getting-ai-upgrade-n869071
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-taser/taser-changes-name-to-axon-in-shift-to-software-services-idUSKBN177265
https://www.wired.com/2017/04/tasers-free-body-cameras-good-cops-not-people/
https://steemit.com/news/@doitvoluntarily/police-upset-over-leaked-footage-of-assault-on-jaywalker
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/police-body-camera-study.html
https://steemit.com/government/@doitvoluntarily/body-cam-footage-shows-officer-willing-to-lie-to-cover-up-an-illegal-search
https://www.fastcompany.com/40402050/taser-axon-police-body-cameras-video-evidence-data
https://theintercept.com/2017/09/21/taser-wants-to-build-an-army-of-smartphone-informants/
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https://steemit.com/police/@doitvoluntarily/costly-concerns-surrounding-police-body-camera-program
This is an example of how technology is taking over and now it’s being implemented with the law but I’m not sure if this is actually a good thing for society and civil law
Ya sometimes it feels like we do things just because we can, without stopping to ask ourselves if we should.
I'm definitely pro-body cameras because I think it protects both the officer and the population having their interactions recorded and auditable. I can see the reason why police might want facial recognition integrated with those cameras, but I also think it takes things into a creepy direction that undermines citizen's rights.
For example, you have the right to not identify yourself to an officer except in certain situations where you do have to identify yourself (traffic stops due to traffic laws, if you're the suspect of an active investigation to name a couple). With facial recognition built into their body cameras, paired with some kind of HUD, it would circumvent your right to refuse to identify yourself by identifying you automatically. I have to question what the officers would really get out of it that would be worth giving that up.
Nice post...
There's almost as many cons if not more with these cameras
I'm going in NY in this summer 💟
Induction of technology is always good but wrong facial determination by camera may cause real problems. So in my 2 cent opinion it is good for other use but not for facial determination. We can't rely on these devices for such sensitive issues. Keep sharing @doitvoluntarily
That's why America has a lot of technology ahead.They are very advanced in technology.Taser International is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based company which develops technology and weapons products for the law enforcement market.............
The difference between using the current system and using AI is, one is going to cause false hits on innocent people and prone to make life taking mistakes, the other is run by AI.
I don't see how using AI is somehow going to be worse than the current system of requiring people to be constantly ID'd. I view it like self driving cars. It's not hard for AI to beat human errors. I think that if we can limit the need for officers to be in contact with people then we limit the problem of officers making mistakes or infuriating a situation that would have never happened if they didn't show up. This would save money and reduce the chain of people who could make a mistake.
My guess is these groups don't want to see the current system get fixed. Body cams reduce corruption and increase transparency, taser's save lives, AI will cut out the middle man who is "only human".
Hi doitvoluntarily,
They need to test the face recognition system 1000's of times to make sure they got all the bug out of the system and fix the malfunctions because in the beta stage it will malfunction.
I am in favor of all kinds of technology that will help the people to do their work well, but I disagree that it is used without being totally sure that this works well and that there is no risk in the operation that by mistake involve innocent person.
Many funny squerido friend @doitvoluntarily for sharing this information
I wish you a beautiful afternoon
same rain in bangladesh.