Comment on AI Startup Flock Thinks It Can Eliminate All Crime In America
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
This company has illegally installed their cameras in more than one town, then tried to sell the local police force on them.
They have lawyers on staff that they use to coach local politicians on how to hold the votes to establish contracts with them in ways that aren’t technically illegal, but ensure that no community opposition has a way to have their voices heard.
You can find a lot of these sprts of stories by searching online. In local subreddits, ones dedicated to talking about flock, and local news.
Benn Jordan has a good 40 minute video giving an overview of these systems, how they work, what they track, and why they are a problem. He highlights some cases where families were held at gunpoint by police due to failures of these systems. He also experiments with defeating the AI that reads plates.
Louis Rossman is currently leading a campaign against their installation where he lives in Austin, Texas right now. Has a number of videos on it.
Overview before the Austin City Council vote: youtu.be/4RM09nKczVs
Call for people to show up at the Austin City Council session to discuss the potential contract with Flock, and showing how difficult it is to find this sort of stuff and be involved with your local government: youtu.be/g4vL1ERdZ9Y
Call to action 2: youtu.be/hDOmYqlwxD4
Austin City Council reschedules the vote (in a questionably illegal fashion) with less than 24 hours notice when they realize they kicked the hornet’s nest: youtu.be/iscDYp6dtl8
Minor followup during the wait for the revised time, at two of the three parks with 90% of reported car break ins these cameras are meant to serve: youtu.be/2QbtDWrlPpc
He also experiments with defeating the AI that reads plates.
Whoever figures out how to make this shit worthless is going to be given king like status very quickly
BTW have you heard of this new tx law targeting “jugging?”
It sounds like a made up excuse to pull people over for trying to fool plate readers sh.itjust.works/comment/20899084
We already know the answer
While the laws are probably fucked in their ability to be applied, jugging is a pretty common thing in texas. A town of about 70,000 had about 3 of them a week, when I was following police reports. It was a pretty common pattern, too (one atm at the back end of a parking lot for a walmart that had a bank between the parking lot and the street, then the victim drove to another store like fast food or any of the strip malls up and down that street, and then the car’s window was broken and the money removed from the atm taken if it was still in an easily grabbed envelope), so this was despite the police caring enough to scope out the particular atm where it would happen.
But what are the chances the law goes into effect on the 1st on and the 5th they make all of these arrests. And also every single arrest seems to be somebody who is using multiple license plates.
You need 2 crime items to be arrested. So like one guy had multiple license plates and a screw driver in his car. One guy had a medical mask and an extra license plate…?
Great resources! I’d like to add the ALPR Map of Flock Cameras, DeFlock.
Just looking around my place, it looks like a lot are operated by businesses that cover every way in or out of the parking lot, and the local PD covers entrance and exit ramps from highways. So essentially you have to watch where you shop and never use an interstate to avoid these things. Basically so difficult most people can’t be bothered.
Of course there is always sniping them…
A well aimed laser should be able to fuck the camera up.
Or a drone with a can of black spray paint.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Yeah there really isn’t much out there about this surveillance AI company that just kind of appeared out of nowhere ~2017.
Kinda like this other one that appeared out of nowhere ~2015
business-standard.com/…/ai-surveillance-flock-saf…
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 1 day ago
They were coming up all over the place when I was looking for a new job ~3 years ago. Everything about them skeeved me out and I had to keep ignoring their postings.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works 23 hours ago
Do you remember any names/locations?
AbidanYre@lemmy.world 23 hours ago
Sorry, I meant Flock specifically was doing a lot of recruiting.