New York wants to use AI and cameras to detect subway crime before it happens

[midian182]

A hot potato: Another authority is turning to AI in the hope of being able to predict crimes or problematic behavior before they occur. New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) plans to use the technology on the city's subways by analyzing live security footage for potential troublemakers.

MTA Chief Security Officer Michael Kemper said (via The Gothamist) that the agency is working with AI companies to develop the software that can analyze real-time subway platform feeds.

The plan is that if the software identifies someone who appears to be acting unusually, suspiciously, or irrationally, it would trigger an alert that in turn would trigger a response from security or the police department. Kemper said that the police response would come "before waiting for something to happen," I.e., stopping a crime before it happens, Minority Report-style.

"AI is the future," Kemper said during a committee meeting. "We're working with tech companies literally right now and seeing what's out there right now on the market, what's feasible, what would work in the subway system."

MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan emphasized that the predictive system would not use facial recognition, adding that the AI technology is designed to identify behaviors, not people.

There have been several instances of unprovoked attacks in New York's subway systems in recent times, including people being pushed onto the tracks. Ten people were murdered in the NYC subways last year, according to police.

Not everyone is happy about the planned use of this technology. "Using artificial intelligence – a technology notoriously unreliable and biased – to monitor our subways and send in police risks exacerbating these disparities and creating new problems," wrote New York Civil Liberties Union Senior Policy Counsel Justin Harrison in a statement. "Living in a sweeping surveillance state shouldn't be the price we pay to be safe. Real public safety comes from investing in our communities, not from omnipresent surveillance."

This is far from the first crime-predicting technology we've seen. Earlier this month, it was reported that the UK government is developing a homicide prediction algorithm to identify potential violent offenders.

South Korea is also testing "Dejaview," an artificial-intelligence platform that scans live CCTV feeds to spot patterns linked to imminent crime and alert authorities before it happens.

Back in 2022, an academic team announced it had created a model capable of forecasting crime up to seven days ahead with roughly 90 percent accuracy. That same year, reports emerged that China was exploring large-scale citizen profiling, aiming to use automated analytics to flag individuals who might become dissidents or lawbreakers before any wrongdoing occurs.

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New York wants to use AI and cameras to detect subway crime before it happens

 

[techseven]

"Person of Interest", anyone?

 

[RudyBob]

Leftist Journalist states..." But it was only 10."

 

[opckieran]

Within 3 weeks, or days, it’s gonna be sued for racism. And many millions of taxpayer dollars will have been spent… for nothing.

 

[NumberNine]

The land of the free and the home of the brave, you say?

 

[wiyosaya]

Leftist Journalist states..." But it was only 10."

Wing-nut forgets that the source of the number was the police themselves.

 

[wiyosaya]

Good luck with this. The criteria for determining a crime about to happen is not likely fixed, and AI will hallucinate.

 

[Dimitriid]

Good luck with this. The criteria for determining a crime about to happen is not likely fixed, and AI will hallucinate.

They don't need luck, they just need the same thing flesh and blood cops use as is always overwhelmingly shown: Racial profiling a.k.a. Good old racism.

 

[pnntmp]

Too dystopian ... too 1984-ish ... scary close to China ... scary close to the UK ..

Luckily, it will be immediately pronounced 'racist', regardless of the results. Or probably before going live.

Anyway, don't do such things, please!
Such a system could be (which means it will be) misused in all conceivable ways.
Including by adversaries, having in mind the level of 'security' these systems usually have.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

They don't need luck, they just need the same thing flesh and blood cops use as is always overwhelmingly shown: Racial profiling a.k.a. Good old racism.

People are getting tired of the excuses. At some point the patterns are so noticeable that event he densest suckers can see it.

 

[Au Contraire]

Scenario: In the Courtroom . . .

Defense Attorney: What was your reason for stopping my client?
Police Officer: We observed what we deem to be suspicious behavior; we presumed he/she/it was about to snatch the purse.
Defense Attorney: And yet my client had not committed any crime when you stopped him/her/she-it. Thus, when you used a non-crime pretense to initiate a search, how is that any different from the banned "stop-and-frisk"? And that murder weapon you found and later tied to a specific event, how can it be used as evidence against my client? Fruit of the poisoned tree, isn't it?
Prosecutor: Objection!
Judge: Over ruled. Case must be dismissed because of police misconduct.

Thus real crimes go unpunished while '*****s-In-Charge' (mostly politicians) keep coming up with ways to look good while not actually doing the job they are hired to do.

 

[BrightlightJohn]

A crime predicted before it happens in Democrat party run cities. Well start with prevention. Enforce the law. Lock up the criminals until they finish their sentences. Deport illegal immigrants. These policies will do more to prevent crime then cameras

 

[BrightlightJohn]

People are getting tired of the excuses. At some point the patterns are so noticeable that event he densest suckers can see it.

You mean Democrats who are willfully blind and tone deaf to constituents complaints of crimes and illegal immigrants.

 

[Antias]

I'm genuinely curious with the above comments...
While I agree that this system could be misused and racial profiling might be an issue, I'm also very aware of the increasing amount of physical threat and danger present in many public locations. Herew in Australia, increases in random physical violence across a lot of public locations is as very real concern.
So, how do we combat this issue if we cant use the latest technology?
What's the real world, cost effective (tax money) alternative?

 

[Tantor]

Crime during the Jim Crow era was FAR lower than it is now. Think about it.

 

[toooooot]

If their AI had built in race checker, it won't help them much.
They can deal with crime, they know how they can make their city safer.
But since they use their faith rather than logic and common sense.

Say what you want, there is no fixing violent crime when looking at it is the
greatest sin of our modern society.

 

[New Day]

Wing-nut forgets that the source of the number was the police themselves.

He and many similar here just want the money shot, to annoint themselves.

AI will know conservatism rules

Conservative in method, not in outlook. They'll know you striaght off, and dispense with you first. You know this and try to convince yourself otherwise.

I know who has the power

Yeah, I do.

 

[jeffbert]

Perhaps the idea is that they send the authorities to the scenes hoping to dissuade the person from being naughty in the 1st place. But then, they need many more of these authorities than otherwise, greatly increasing the cost.

Then they will realize they have not caught the would-be offenders, because they had not offended, and the whole thing cost big bucks, with apparently little to show for it, & cancel the program. Result: realizing the outcome, they decided to skip it entirely.