If you ever visited this nice country you would have realized by now that you can find more cameras then people.
Now, this can open to a huge debate in wich someone could argue about it’s risk of unlawful use or how bad it is for the privacy and someone could argue about how good of deterrent it is in fighting crime is (providing the right justice when needed).
Yes, they are both valid arguments and personally i’m struggling about wich side to take. All i know is:
In case an argument last more then 5 minutes, then both the side are wrong
I don’t remember who said this
Even tho i love that quote we can safely agree that cannot be applied to every argument. But still. In this case, i think, both side are wrong.
Dear Orwell…
I love the book 1984 it’s amazing for how is written, the word used, the “fantasy” behind it and so on. But apparently has been used a guide-book for some government. And i honestly fight hard for the right to privacy of each individual (yes, even for those who do not deserve it).
What makes me not to worry so much even in the places where cameras are everywhere and widely used is that there will be always someone able to avoid surveillance system. An example ? CAP_ABLE, their prices might not be affordable for every one. But at least they came out with a very nice solution for avoiding facial recognition technology when walking around. So this is just to say: you can accept a surveillance system and still put on some precautions in order to not be followed. And i know, also here start another debate: “why ? what you have to hide ?”
Bitch please, only because you are used to be stupid in public (using facebook/tiktok/whatever for example showing to the world your IQ level being the same of a fish stick), i grow up being stupid in private (or at least among strict friends).
My Duality
As said earlier, i’m living between 2 world: i welcome new systems that can provide extra security to people, especially when comes to physical security. A camera used by the proper authority (police) to make advancements in investigation or catch a killer for example. Those are amazing uses ! And i welcome them with all my heart. Why i don’t like general surveillance system (audio/video) ? Because behind a monitor there is always a person and always a person setted it up. And no, i don’t trust AI in recognizing things at all. At least not at moment.
UK Police Plan for the new year
The Chief of UK police announced that is gonna provide all the officers of a mobile system for facial recognition, name: Operator Initiated Facial Recognition (OIFR).
The system will use NEC’s NeoFace facial-recognition algorithm where they (and i quote) assure “Unsurpassed Accuracy & Matching Speed”.
NEC is a huge corporation with branches all over the world. Born in Japan in the year 1898 started pretty early it’s road towards innovation and telecommunications. But i’m not here to teach you about them, if you are curios here their wiki page.
The NPCC (National Police Chief’s Council) decided that the PND (Police National Database) will be connected to the NEC system and they plan a nationwide roll-out for the 2024 and, futhermore, they plan to increase also the use of Retrospective Facial Recognition software before May 2024.
Random Thoughts
- Wich are the criteria to end up into the PND ? For how long my face is gonna be there ?
- UK: No clear legal framework in order to defend and protect people around biometric technologies.
- Are there independent tech organization/company to provide an unbiased audit on how this technology and tools works ?
- How the datas are protected and stored. And who the hell can access to it ?
- Any 3rd party involved ?
Thos are just some of the thought the came to my head when i read about the NPCC plan (and honestly…about United Kingdom in general when comes to privacy).
Conclusion
I’m again in a situation where i don’t know what to say/do about something. But everything has it’s duality. A knife can be used to cut a a piece of bread and feed someone or can be used to kill someone. You get my point.
As always,
Stay Safe !
