PUBLISHER'S NOTE: In recent years, I have found myself publishing more and more posts on the application of artificial intelligence technology to policing, public safety, and the criminal justice process, not just in North America, but in countries all over the world, including China. Although I accept that properly applied science can play a positive role in our society, I have learned over the years that technologies introduced for the so-called public good, can eventually be used against the people they were supposed to benefit. As reporter Sieeka Khan writes in Science Times: "In 2017, researchers sent a letter to the secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security. The researchers expressed their concerns about a proposal to use the AI to determine whether someone who is seeking refuge in the US would become a positive and contributing member of society or if they are likely to become a threat or a terrorist. The other government uses of AI are also being questioned, such as the attempts at setting bail amounts and sentences on criminals, predictive policing and hiring government workers. All of these attempts have been shown to be prone to technical issues and a limit on the data can cause bias on their decisions as they will base it on gender, race or cultural background. Other AI technologies like automated surveillance, facial recognition and mass data collection are raising concerns about privacy, security, accuracy and fairness in a democratic society. As the executive order of Trump demonstrates, there is a massive interest in harnessing AI for its full, positive potential. But the dangers of misuse, bias and abuse, whether it is intentional or not, have the chance to work against the principles of international democracies. As the use of artificial intelligence grows, the potential for misuse, bias and abuse grows as well. The purpose of this 'technology' series, is to highlight the dangers of artificial intelligence - and to help readers make their own assessments as to whether these innovations will do more harm than good.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
-----------------------------------------------------------
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese government has vastly expanded domestic surveillance, fueling a new generation of companies that make sophisticated technology at ever lower prices. A global infrastructure initiative is spreading that technology even further. Ecuador shows how technology built for China’s political system is now being applied — and sometimes abused — by other governments. Today, 18 countries — including Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates and Germany — are using Chinese-made intelligent monitoring systems, and 36 have received training in topics like “public opinion guidance,” which is typically a euphemism for censorship, according to an October report from Freedom House, a pro-democracy research group."
--------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Made in China, Exported to the World: The Surveillance State," by reporters Paul Mozur, Jonah M. Kessel, and Melissa Chan, published by The New York Times on April 24, 2019.
SUB-HEADING: "In Ecuador, cameras capture footage to be examined by police and domestic intelligence. The surveillance system’s origin: China:
PHOTO CAPTION: "Is Chinese-style surveillance becoming normalized? A Times investigation found the Chinese surveillance state is spreading past its borders. "
GIST: (This is but a taste. The entire story is well worth the read, at the link below: HL): "The squat gray building in Ecuador’s capital commands a sweeping view
of the city’s sparkling sprawl, from the high-rises at the base of the
Andean valley to the pastel neighborhoods that spill up its
mountainsides. The police who work
inside are looking elsewhere. They spend their days poring over computer
screens, watching footage that comes in from 4,300 cameras across the
country. The high-powered cameras
send what they see to 16 monitoring centers in Ecuador that employ more
than 3,000 people. Armed with joysticks, the police control the cameras
and scan the streets for drug deals, muggings and murders. If they spy
something, they zoom in. This voyeur’s paradise is made with technology from what is fast becoming the global capital of surveillance: China. Ecuador’s
system, which was installed beginning in 2011, is a basic version of a
program of computerized controls that Beijing has spent billions to
build out over a decade of technological progress. According to
Ecuador’s government, these cameras feed footage to the police for
manual review. But a New York Times
investigation found that the footage also goes to the country’s feared
domestic intelligence agency, which under the previous president, Rafael
Correa, had a lengthy track record of following, intimidating and
attacking political opponents. Even as a new administration under
President Lenín Moreno investigates the agency’s abuses, the group still
gets the videos. Under President Xi
Jinping, the Chinese government has vastly expanded domestic
surveillance, fueling a new generation of companies that make
sophisticated technology at ever lower prices. A global infrastructure
initiative is spreading that technology even further. Ecuador
shows how technology built for China’s political system is now being
applied — and sometimes abused — by other governments. Today, 18
countries — including Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kenya, the United
Arab Emirates and Germany — are using Chinese-made intelligent
monitoring systems, and 36 have received training in topics like “public
opinion guidance,” which is typically a euphemism for censorship,
according to an October report from Freedom House, a pro-democracy
research group. With China’s
surveillance know-how and equipment now flowing to the world, critics
warn that it could help underpin a future of tech-driven
authoritarianism, potentially leading to a loss of privacy on an
industrial scale. Often described as public security systems, the
technologies have darker potential uses as tools of political repression. “They’re
selling this as the future of governance; the future will be all about
controlling the masses through technology,” Adrian Shahbaz, research
director at Freedom House, said of China’s new tech exports. Companies worldwide provide the components and code of dystopian digital surveillance and democratic nations like Britain and the United States also have ways of watching their citizens.
But China’s growing market dominance has changed things. Loans from
Beijing have made surveillance technology available to governments that
could not previously afford it, while China’s authoritarian system has
diminished the transparency and accountability of its use.".........The
odds are against Ecuador’s police force. Quito has more than 800
cameras. But during a Times visit, 30 police officers were on duty to
check the footage. In their gray building atop the hill, officers spend a
few minutes looking at footage from one camera and then switch.
Preventing crime is only part of the job. In a control room, dispatchers
supported responses to emergency calls. Most of the time, no one was on the other side of the lens. It
was a reminder that the system, and others like it, are more easily
used for snooping than crime prevention. Following someone on the
streets requires a small team, while large numbers of well-coordinated
police are necessary to stop crime."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
The entire story can be read at;
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/technology/ecuador-surveillance-cameras-police-government.htmlPUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
---------------------------------------------------------------
