As soon as I heard about Flock, the now-huge network of cameras that can automatically read license plates and instantly report their location to authorities, I wondered how long it would take before we read about police officers using the network to track girlfriends, wives and exes.
It actually took longer than I thought, but here we are: The Washington Post reported a week ago that at least 50 officers throughout the U.S. have been accused of stalking by using Flock and similar systems. All sorts of national media have now followed the Post story, and we're in an environment of heightened sensibilities about surveillance and about how scary AI might turn out to be, so this story isn't going away any time soon.
In the swamp that is today's social media, some conspiracy theorists are trying to drag in the insurance industry, saying it uses Flock cameras in nefarious ways. As the scandal unfolds, we need to not only make sure we avoid any unethical uses of camera networks but can respond quickly and convincingly to any online trolls alleging abuse.
Let's have a look.
Many years ago, a good friend was driving an old car in Washington, DC, when he stopped at a stop sign and saw a pedestrian motioning to him that he needed directions. Tim rolled his window down, and the guy stuck a gun in his face, ordering him out of the car. But the car's clutch was dying, and the carjacker couldn't figure it out. He lurched a few feet and stalled. Another few feet and another stall. He stalled a third time before he even made it halfway through the intersection. He got out of the car, threw the keys into Tim's chest and ran off.
If the carjacker had succeeded and been in modern DC, he would have been a perfect candidate for Flock. Tim could have simply told a 911 dispatcher what his license plate was, and Flock's 120,000 cameras throughout the U.S. (except Alaska) would have instantly been on the lookout. Flock works with 7,000 police departments, or 40% of the total in the U.S., so once its AI spotted the license plate on the stolen car it would have been able to alert police and have a pretty good chance of recovering it.
In theory, Flock will gradually prevent more and more thefts, because thieves will either be caught and incarcerated or will simply realize that car theft is a losing proposition.