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When Minority Report Becomes New Yorkers' Reality
Tucked into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's presentation on his $100 billion plan to invest in the state's infrastructure last week was an initiative that will put New Yorkers' privacy in peril.
Oct 12, 2016
Tucked into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's presentation on his $100 billion plan to invest in the state's infrastructure last week was an initiative that will put New Yorkers' privacy in peril.
Part of Cuomo's plan to "reimagine New York's crossings for the 21st century" calls for installing controversial advanced cameras, license plate readers, and facial recognition technology in New York's airports and other transportation hubs. The plan also will install sensors and cameras at "structurally sensitive" points on bridges and tunnels.
This is a transformative surveillance system -- one that has the potential to put thousands and thousands of people's images and data in a massive database that could be easily misused by the government in ways we haven't even imagined yet. It's also not yet clear how the information will be stored and who will have access to it. What is clear is that there is an enormous risk that innocent people will be misidentified as terrorists, especially people of color. That's because facial recognition technology, while certainly not error proof generally, is much more likely to misidentify minorities. A 2012 study, highlighted by the Atlantic, for example, found that a facial recognition algorithm failed to identify the right person nearly twice as often when the photo was of a Black person.
The other technologies touted by Cuomo are far from harmless as well. Just ask Robert Harte how police use of license plate readers can go awry. A SWAT team in Kansas raided Harte's house where his wife, 7-year-old daughter, and 13-year-old son lived based in part on the mass monitoring of cars parked at a gardening store. Harte was held at gunpoint for two hours while cops combed through his home. The police were looking for a marijuana growing operation. They did not find that or any other evidence of criminal activity in Harte's house.
It's also important to understand that these technologies have a way of creeping towards ubiquity. It starts with a camera here or a license plate reader there, but soon they are everywhere. And just as important, Gov. Cuomo's plan sets a disturbing precedent that could be followed by other states.
We are taking one step closer to the dystopian world of Minority Report without any discussion of the serious privacy concerns that are implicated.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
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Tucked into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's presentation on his $100 billion plan to invest in the state's infrastructure last week was an initiative that will put New Yorkers' privacy in peril.
Part of Cuomo's plan to "reimagine New York's crossings for the 21st century" calls for installing controversial advanced cameras, license plate readers, and facial recognition technology in New York's airports and other transportation hubs. The plan also will install sensors and cameras at "structurally sensitive" points on bridges and tunnels.
This is a transformative surveillance system -- one that has the potential to put thousands and thousands of people's images and data in a massive database that could be easily misused by the government in ways we haven't even imagined yet. It's also not yet clear how the information will be stored and who will have access to it. What is clear is that there is an enormous risk that innocent people will be misidentified as terrorists, especially people of color. That's because facial recognition technology, while certainly not error proof generally, is much more likely to misidentify minorities. A 2012 study, highlighted by the Atlantic, for example, found that a facial recognition algorithm failed to identify the right person nearly twice as often when the photo was of a Black person.
The other technologies touted by Cuomo are far from harmless as well. Just ask Robert Harte how police use of license plate readers can go awry. A SWAT team in Kansas raided Harte's house where his wife, 7-year-old daughter, and 13-year-old son lived based in part on the mass monitoring of cars parked at a gardening store. Harte was held at gunpoint for two hours while cops combed through his home. The police were looking for a marijuana growing operation. They did not find that or any other evidence of criminal activity in Harte's house.
It's also important to understand that these technologies have a way of creeping towards ubiquity. It starts with a camera here or a license plate reader there, but soon they are everywhere. And just as important, Gov. Cuomo's plan sets a disturbing precedent that could be followed by other states.
We are taking one step closer to the dystopian world of Minority Report without any discussion of the serious privacy concerns that are implicated.
Tucked into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's presentation on his $100 billion plan to invest in the state's infrastructure last week was an initiative that will put New Yorkers' privacy in peril.
Part of Cuomo's plan to "reimagine New York's crossings for the 21st century" calls for installing controversial advanced cameras, license plate readers, and facial recognition technology in New York's airports and other transportation hubs. The plan also will install sensors and cameras at "structurally sensitive" points on bridges and tunnels.
This is a transformative surveillance system -- one that has the potential to put thousands and thousands of people's images and data in a massive database that could be easily misused by the government in ways we haven't even imagined yet. It's also not yet clear how the information will be stored and who will have access to it. What is clear is that there is an enormous risk that innocent people will be misidentified as terrorists, especially people of color. That's because facial recognition technology, while certainly not error proof generally, is much more likely to misidentify minorities. A 2012 study, highlighted by the Atlantic, for example, found that a facial recognition algorithm failed to identify the right person nearly twice as often when the photo was of a Black person.
The other technologies touted by Cuomo are far from harmless as well. Just ask Robert Harte how police use of license plate readers can go awry. A SWAT team in Kansas raided Harte's house where his wife, 7-year-old daughter, and 13-year-old son lived based in part on the mass monitoring of cars parked at a gardening store. Harte was held at gunpoint for two hours while cops combed through his home. The police were looking for a marijuana growing operation. They did not find that or any other evidence of criminal activity in Harte's house.
It's also important to understand that these technologies have a way of creeping towards ubiquity. It starts with a camera here or a license plate reader there, but soon they are everywhere. And just as important, Gov. Cuomo's plan sets a disturbing precedent that could be followed by other states.
We are taking one step closer to the dystopian world of Minority Report without any discussion of the serious privacy concerns that are implicated.
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