Japanese Police to Test AI-Equipped Security Cameras

Reports indicate that Japanese police will begin testing artificial intelligence-equipped security cameras in the hope of stopping major crimes before they happen.

Pre-Crime Surveillance Tests

According to the Japan National Police Agency, pre-crime surveillance tests will not use the capabilities of “facial recognition” technology. Instead, AI cameras will focus on recognizing three types of machine learning models: “behavior detection” for individuals with suspicious activity, “detection of suspicious objects” such as guns and other weapons, and “intrusion detection” to protect restricted areas.

Launch of AI Testing Program

Japanese police officials have said they plan to launch an AI testing program sometime during the fiscal year ending March 2024 in Japan.

Benefits and Concerns

While some counter-terrorism experts argue that the new AI cameras will help police officers be more efficient and “provide more vigilance tools,” others express concern about the introduction of hidden algorithmic biases into police work.

AI cameras may have features such as “behavior detection” which analyzes a person’s movements and “face recognition” which identifies a person. And the police will only consider the technology’s ability to detect behavior.

In order to detect behavior, the system learns to detect unusual movements, such as looking around repeatedly while observing models of suspicious people. Suspicious crowd behavior can be difficult to spot with the naked eye, and the system can make security forces more capable of dealing with security threats.

Anniversary of Assassination

This AI camera test is being held on the anniversary of the assassination of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his campaign speech near Yamato Saidaji Station on July 8, 2022.

Addressing Increasing Threats

One of the reasons the police will be testing the new system is the increase in the number of attacks by individuals known as “loners”, who are becoming increasingly difficult to detect in advance.

In addition to the execution of Abe, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was attacked without warning in April of this year.

Evaluating the Accuracy

For now, the National Police Agency’s use of this “crime prediction” technology will only be a test in an attempt to evaluate the accuracy of AI cameras in order to carefully consider the value of formally adopting the system.

According to the Nikkei website, police will not use the technology’s “facial recognition” features, focusing only on general behavior and suspicious items.

Global Use of AI Cameras

Japan is not the first to use AI cameras, Isao Itabashi, a senior analyst at the Tokyo Public Policy Council who is also an expert in counter-terrorism defense strategy, told Nikkei: “AI cameras are already widely used in Europe, the US and Asia, and Japanese companies are exploring behavior detection technology.”

A 2019 survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found that AI-assisted security camera technology was in fact already in use in 52 of the 176 countries they surveyed.

France’s Implementation

France recently passed a law allowing the installation of AI-powered security systems to protect Paris ahead of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in the French capital.

Source

Source: Daily Mail