AI Body Cams: From 'Too Intrusive' to 'Essential R&D' in Six Years
Axon, the leading body camera manufacturer, is piloting AI-powered facial recognition on Canadian police with a 'high-risk' watch list of 7,000 faces in Edmonton, as per AP News. This is the same Axon whose own ethics board warned against this very technology in 2019, citing 'serious ethical concerns.' Now, their CEO labels it 'early-stage field research.' Apparently, ethical concerns can be filed
under 'pre-product launch' when profits loom. We're told this is for 'safeguards' and 'independent insights' outside the U.S. Because, naturally, the surveillance state needs more 'field research,' and what better place than a country often less scrutinized by American civil liberties groups? One might wonder if this 'research' involves seeing how many people can be added to a 'watch list' before
public outcry gets too loud. It's not intrusive until it's 'essential R&D.'