AI Surveillance and Biometrics Shoring Up Cash-Strapped Autocracies Around the World

​George Orwell wrote that in a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
 
Revolutionary acts of truth-telling are becoming progressively more dangerous around the world. This is especially true as autocratic countries and weak democracies purchase AI software from China to weave together surveillance technology to comprehensively track individuals, following them as they meet acquaintances and share information. A piece by Abi Olvera posted by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists describes this growing use of AI to surveil populations.
 
Olvera reports that by 2019, 56 out of 176 countries were already using artificial intelligence to weave together surveillance data streams. These systems are increasingly being used to analyze the actions of crowds, track individuals across camera views, and pierce the use of masks or scramblers intended to disguise faces. The only impediment to effective use of this technology is the frequent Brazil-like incompetence of domestic intelligence agencies.
 
Olvera writes:
 
“Among other things, frail non-democratic governments can use AI-enabled monitoring to detect and track individuals and deter civil disobedience before it begins, thereby bolstering their authority. These systems offer cash-strapped autocracies and weak democracies the deterrent power of a police or military patrol without needing to pay for, or manage, a patrol force …”
 
Olvera quotes AI surveillance expert Martin Beraja that AI can enable autocracies to “end up looking less violent because they have better technology for chilling unrest before it happens.”
 
Olivia Solon of Bloomberg reports on the uses of biometric identifiers in Africa, which are regarded by the United Nations and World Bank as a quick and easy way to establish identities where licenses, passports, and other ID cards are hard to come by. But in Uganda, Solon reports, President Yoweri Museveni – in power for 40 years – is using this system to track his critics and political opponents of his rule. Used to catch criminals, biometrics is also being used to criminalize Ugandan dissidents and rival politicians for “misuse of social media” and sharing “malicious information.”
 
The United States needs to lead by example. As our facial recognition and other systems grow in ubiquity, Congress and the states need to demonstrate our ability to impose limits on public surveillance, and legal guardrails for the uses of the sensitive information they generate.