As Lexus owner who has agreed to participate in occasional surveys, I received one this week about a possible new automobile feature they are considering. The questionnaire began by asking me how often I park my car on the street, in my driveway, and in a parking lot. It went on to quantify how worried I am about car theft, a car break-in, or someone hitting my parked car.
It then showed me a three-minute video describing a concept that would create a wireless network between multiple automobiles of all makes to solve this problem. It would use the video cameras in each car to provide a wide area video surveillence of a large parking lot or other area of your city to detect when a thief was wandering around the area looking to steal an automobile or break in to steal belongings. It even showed a would-be car thief stooping down between parked cars, trying to open the doors. The video portrayed the idea as an exciting new concept to supplement the car alarm and keep us and our car safe from theft and damage.
The questionairre then went on to ask a series of questions about how interested I would be in this feature. For a moment it sounded sensible If connected vehicles could spot suspicious activity, share videos, and alert nearby owners in real time, that might deter criminals.
But, then, an instant later, I thought of the RIng camera and the contraversy it has created with its Super Bowl ad, showing how its doorbell cameras are now being networked together and used to find lost dogs. People rebelled at the ad, realizing how easily the cameras could be used to track all of us. The company’s CEO had to apologize. But in spite of his embarrassment, what began as an ingenous doorbell camera has evolved into a vast, privately-owned surveillance web. RING (owned by Amazon) has struck formal arrangements with law enforcement agencies to provide footage once permission is obtained. Neighbors are encouraged to share clips.
From the cited article in the New York TImes, “Ring ended its partnership with Flock Safety, which operates A.I.-powered surveillance cameras that critics feared would allow government agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement to gain access to user data. The partnership would have given Flock access to a tool to work with local law enforcement.”
Now imagine replacing fixed doorbells with wide-angle outward-facing cameras on wheels, pointing in all directions. Today’s vehicles contain anywhere from a few to a dozen wide angle cameras as well as cellular connectivity, GPS tagging, and over-the-air update capabilities, all connected to the cloud. That plus software is all you need for a massive surveillance system!
Also, cars don’t just monitor a front porch. They move through residential streets, commercial districts, past medical offices, political gatherings, churches and mosques. They park outside homes. They idle next to pedestrians. They capture license plates and faces at close range. And increasingly, they are capable of transmitting that data back to the manufacturer. In fact GM was sued and paid penalties for transmitting its car owners’ driving habits to insurance companies who then raised the rates of some of the owners.
In a world where vehicles collectively form a moving camera grid and AI makes sorting through huge amounts of data much easier, our anonymity in public spaces could disappear withour prper safeguards and legislation. We love having cameras in our car to help us backup, park and detect cars in our blind spots, but that same technology can easily turn into a dystopian society.
In the survey I wasn’t asking whether I want to live in a surveillance state, but its proposal sure looks like one.