Flock, a company that uses cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor people’s movements, relies on overseas workers from Upwork to train its machine learning algorithms. A leaked panel shows that these workers are tasked with reviewing footage of license plates, vehicles, and people in the US, raising questions about who has access to this sensitive information.
The company’s AI-powered cameras scan license plates, vehicle colors, brands, and models as they drive by, allowing law enforcement to search nationwide without a warrant. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Electronic Frontier Foundation have recently sued cities with high numbers of Flock cameras.
A Flock patent mentions the use of AI to detect people’s clothes and even “race.” Workers are tasked with annotating footage to help train the algorithms, including tasks like transcribing license plates and categorizing vehicle types. Some workers completed thousands of annotations in a short period.
The exposed panel lists people from the Philippines who were employed through Upwork, a gig work platform where companies can hire workers for various tasks, including AI services. The workers’ guides show images from vehicles with US plates, as well as road signs clearly showing footage taken inside the US.
Flock’s cameras continuously scan license plate information without requiring a warrant, leading to concerns about privacy and surveillance.
Source: https://www.wired.com/story/flock-uses-overseas-gig-workers-to-build-its-surveillance-ai