Code & Conscience #010

In this Issue

I discuss the latest trends in AI and surveillance, what this means for your privacy, safety, and freedom. I also have some good news to share, so keep reading!

You're Being Followed!

It's a cool Wednesday evening. You're driving home from your office, as usual, except something is strikingly different this time. A black sedan has been tailing you for a while now. You've made four turns (a circle) to confirm if you're begin followed, and as much as you hate to believe it, you're gut is right. You're being followed!

This is a creepy scenario we see in movies but pray it never happens to us. The unfortunate truth is we're being followed, watched, monitored, but not by a black sedan. I'll explain.

New Age Surveillance

Surveillance is simply a way of monitoring a person (or group's) activities, communication, location, etc. Thanks to technology, this has become easier to do than at any point in history. Here are a few forms new age surveillance takes, some are even in plain sight:

1. Social Media Monitoring: Every post, like, share, and comment paints a picture of who you are, what you think, and what you’re likely to do next.​
2. Location Tracking: Your smartphone quietly pings cell towers, GPS satellites, and Wi-Fi hotspots, silently following your every move.
3. Financial Surveillance: Credit card purchases, payment apps, and even some cryptocurrencies leave a traceable trail that points back to you.
4. Communication Monitoring: And I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but messages sent through most apps are quite visible to others.

Now, there's a new kid on the block, AI, and it's scaling the possibilities of surveillance. For example, in the United States, AI surveillance is embedded in a vast digital infrastructure. Government agencies mine data to track immigration status, digital communication, and even protest activity. Vision Language Models(VLM) now enable natural language surveillance commands. An operator might say, "alert me if someone leaves a backpack unattended," and the system listens, watches, and alerts them when necessary.

​China, on the other hand uses AI surveillance as an export. Selling intelligent complex surveillance systems that include real-time tracking, crowd analysis, and person identification. Malaysia is an example of countries patronizing these services from China.

Additionally, there's a new surveillance technology that feels like something right out of a sci-fi. "WhoFi", a Wi-Fi sensing technology that analyzes how your body disrupts Wi-Fi signals. It creates a "biometric fingerprint" capable of identifying you in multiple locations, even without a phone or visible camera. It’s quiet, invisible, and deeply invasive.

While more countries are stripping the privacy of their citizens, Denmark is doing the opposite. They are currently working on legislation to protect citizens' privacies against AI impersonation(Deepfakes) rather than evading their privacies.

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Is AI Surveillance A Savior or Slayer?

One of the first things I learned in Physics class is, "To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Depending on who you ask, the use of AI in surveillance can be painted as a Savior or Slayer. I'll present both sides of the argument to you.

Our Savior?

• Public Safety: AI can detect threats faster than any human, helping law enforcement prevent violence, locate missing persons, and respond swiftly to emergencies.
• Operational Efficiency: AI surveillance cuts cost while increasing monitoring coverage.
• Environmental Awareness: In smart cities, AI helps manage traffic, energy, and emergency responses with real-time video input.
• Access Control: From workplaces to airports, AI simplifies identity verification and access monitoring.

Or Our Slayer?

• Privacy Erosion: With every camera, sensor, and data stream, your right to be unobserved shrinks.
• Chilling Effect: When people think they’re being watched, they change behavior limiting speech, protest, and even simple curiosity.
• Bias and Misidentification: AI models trained on flawed data make flawed decisions, disproportionately impacting marginalized groups.
• Injustice Through Automation: Once a system flags someone, that label can stick, regardless of context, intent, or error.
• Lack of Accountability: AI systems often operate in a black box. When something goes wrong, it's unclear who or what is responsible.

So, which side are you on? Please use the poll to vote.

What are your thoughts on AI surveillance? It's a Savior It's a Slayer It depends

Around the Web

📖 When Your Power Meter Becomes a Tool of Mass Surveillance by Hudson Hongo and Adam Schwartz​

📖 Read on LinkedIn: Surveillance Tech They're Funding by The Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR)​

📖 Considering Trump’s AI Plan and the Future It Portends by Justin Hendrix​

▶️ Watch on Instagram: Surveillance Pricing by Joshua Doss​

➕ Bonus: Sam Altman Warns Against Sharing Personal Details with ChatGPT​