4 ms·

...Like a scene out of the movie “Minority Report,”algorithms analyze security-camera footage and alert staff about potential thieves via a smartphone app. The

...Like a scene out of the movie “Minority Report,”algorithms analyze security-camera footage and alert staff about potential thieves via a smartphone app. The goal is prevention; if the target is approached and asked if they need help, there’s a good chance the theft never happens. At least the won't try to arrest you before committing a crime like in the movie

ceejayoz 7y ago
Nasty consequences could still ensue. Imagine being banned from your main grocery store option because of a false positive from this system.
- Someone1234 7y ago
  And it will happen. Every time we make an advancement someone uses it in exactly the opposite way than intended. In this case people will get too confident in the technology, and start accusing random people with a tick or other false-positive indicator.
- Frost1x 7y ago
  As a society, we're rapidly encroaching into a deeper feudalistic structure here in the US. This is apparent in trends shown in socioeconomic structure and mobility. It's also apparent in the unrest you see in recent and current politics. At the same time, we're reaching a point with data science and sensing technologies that we've not looked at from a moral and ethical perspective at large as a society. These technologies will certainly be used by the ruling class (wealthy, powerful) for their best interests to further entrench this societal structure. As with any technology, it can also be used to serve humanity at large so the technology itself isn't bad, it's always a balancing act of how it's utilized. We, as a society, really need to begin considering moral and ethical implications of the uses of these technologies by the ruling class and decide what we want and don't want to allow. If it's left for them to decide, I can assure you, it won't be good for vast majority of us plebes/proles (citizens). Maintaining a democracy is a never-ending fight and we meager citizens currently seem to be losing the battle as technology accelerates the ruling class's grip at every turn. Heck, people on this very site are indirectly contributing to these development efforts for what now seems like a great payoff. It's easy to get wrapped up in the beauty and complexity of technology without considering its implications, especially when you're getting paid quite well (for now). You only need to look back a few decades at retrospective assessments from some of the greatest minds in the century that developed modern nuclear weapons as a guide. We need to organize and step-up our game to take back control of our government to serve us (the people), not a select few extremely wealthy and powerful folks. We need to consider moral and ethical implications of use of these technologies and enact laws with serious protections and penalties before mass abuse of technology grows more rampant.
bilbo0s 7y ago
>if the target is approached and asked if they need help, there’s a good chance the theft never happens... Good security would see your "target" as the "subject". The target is the guy taking advantage of the new camera prediction system by waiting for a subject of interest to enter the area before proceeding to rip you off while you're otherwise engaged. My guess is that the shoplifting rings will have a field day in any mall relying on tech like this.
- mc32 7y ago
  Wouldn’t systems like this have the intelligence to have these known rings in their databases? Of course they can have new (unknown) recruits but that gets costly. I can have sympathy for the teenager who steals a snickers bar, ok. But these roving bands of shoplifting thieves, I hope they get caught and put out of business.
  - bilbo0s 7y ago
    >I hope they get caught and put out of business... They may be caught, but it won't be by a prediction system. I can pretty much guarantee they will be the ones taking advantage of the prediction system. These rings are very difficult to crack even by seasoned store detectives and law enforcement. I would not count on AI/ML to do what your average city detectives can't, that's just wishful thinking. If these rings get cracked, there will be some clever, human based, detective work behind the takedowns. AI/ML is just too easy to trick in all the predictable ways. It'll likely derail the opportunistic shoplifters, or less intelligent shoplifters that work alone. I don't think it will get close to disrupting these shoplifting networks though. (And in fairness, even the human police officers are easily diverted if you appeal to their biases. That's just the neuro-psychological nature of attention. No way around it in humans, just have to be aware of it and trust your hunches. If you have a hunch someone is trying to divert you, step back and take another look at the big picture.)
    - mc32 7y ago
      Are they more difficult to crack than professional card counters in Vegas who get tracked and then this info disseminated to all other venues?

ceejayoz 7y ago

Nasty consequences could still ensue. Imagine being banned from your main grocery store option because of a false positive from this system.

Someone1234 7y ago
And it will happen. Every time we make an advancement someone uses it in exactly the opposite way than intended. In this case people will get too confident in the technology, and start accusing random people with a tick or other false-positive indicator.
Frost1x 7y ago
As a society, we're rapidly encroaching into a deeper feudalistic structure here in the US. This is apparent in trends shown in socioeconomic structure and mobility. It's also apparent in the unrest you see in recent and current politics. At the same time, we're reaching a point with data science and sensing technologies that we've not looked at from a moral and ethical perspective at large as a society. These technologies will certainly be used by the ruling class (wealthy, powerful) for their best interests to further entrench this societal structure. As with any technology, it can also be used to serve humanity at large so the technology itself isn't bad, it's always a balancing act of how it's utilized. We, as a society, really need to begin considering moral and ethical implications of the uses of these technologies by the ruling class and decide what we want and don't want to allow. If it's left for them to decide, I can assure you, it won't be good for vast majority of us plebes/proles (citizens). Maintaining a democracy is a never-ending fight and we meager citizens currently seem to be losing the battle as technology accelerates the ruling class's grip at every turn. Heck, people on this very site are indirectly contributing to these development efforts for what now seems like a great payoff. It's easy to get wrapped up in the beauty and complexity of technology without considering its implications, especially when you're getting paid quite well (for now). You only need to look back a few decades at retrospective assessments from some of the greatest minds in the century that developed modern nuclear weapons as a guide. We need to organize and step-up our game to take back control of our government to serve us (the people), not a select few extremely wealthy and powerful folks. We need to consider moral and ethical implications of use of these technologies and enact laws with serious protections and penalties before mass abuse of technology grows more rampant.

bilbo0s 7y ago

>if the target is approached and asked if they need help, there’s a good chance the theft never happens... Good security would see your "target" as the "subject". The target is the guy taking advantage of the new camera prediction system by waiting for a subject of interest to enter the area before proceeding to rip you off while you're otherwise engaged. My guess is that the shoplifting rings will have a field day in any mall relying on tech like this.

mc32 7y ago
Wouldn’t systems like this have the intelligence to have these known rings in their databases? Of course they can have new (unknown) recruits but that gets costly. I can have sympathy for the teenager who steals a snickers bar, ok. But these roving bands of shoplifting thieves, I hope they get caught and put out of business.
- bilbo0s 7y ago
  >I hope they get caught and put out of business... They may be caught, but it won't be by a prediction system. I can pretty much guarantee they will be the ones taking advantage of the prediction system. These rings are very difficult to crack even by seasoned store detectives and law enforcement. I would not count on AI/ML to do what your average city detectives can't, that's just wishful thinking. If these rings get cracked, there will be some clever, human based, detective work behind the takedowns. AI/ML is just too easy to trick in all the predictable ways. It'll likely derail the opportunistic shoplifters, or less intelligent shoplifters that work alone. I don't think it will get close to disrupting these shoplifting networks though. (And in fairness, even the human police officers are easily diverted if you appeal to their biases. That's just the neuro-psychological nature of attention. No way around it in humans, just have to be aware of it and trust your hunches. If you have a hunch someone is trying to divert you, step back and take another look at the big picture.)
  - mc32 7y ago
    Are they more difficult to crack than professional card counters in Vegas who get tracked and then this info disseminated to all other venues?