France’s artificial intelligence (AI) video surveillance plan has crossed another important obstacle this week, just one step away from landing.
On March 28th, the National Assembly approved a draft security measure covering the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with an overwhelming result of 400-93. After that, the draft will be further fine-tuned between the Senate and the National Assembly, and it is expected to be finally passed in April. In January this year, the draft was overwhelmingly passed in the Senate (245-28).
This draft includes a lot of contents, among which the seventh one is particularly controversial, because it allows the use of AI video surveillance technology to detect abnormal behavior during the Paris Olympic Games. However, the implementation will be temporary and will be used during the Paris Olympic Games (July 26-August 11, 2024) and the subsequent Paralympic Games, ending on December 31, 2024.
This clause goes further than most countries in the world. It involves not only video surveillance that is difficult to promote in Europe, but also increasingly worrying artificial intelligence. The proposed bill combines cameras with algorithm-driven AI software. AI is responsible for identifying security problems, such as abandoned packages or abnormal people, and humans are responsible for the final operation and decide whether to take action.
Supporters believe that this is only a temporary experiment of new technology, so don’t worry too much. The French government said that in the face of the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, security pressures such as terrorist attacks and crowd trampling are enormous. It cited the stampede accident in itaewon, South Korea, which killed more than 160 people last year, and believed that new technology could largely avoid such tragedies. French Sports Minister Castela stressed that the bill is only temporary and will not involve facial recognition. It will detect “anomalies, not someone.”
In addition, the system based on artificial intelligence can predict crowd movement and find abandoned luggage or potential dangerous events. Compared with traditional video surveillance, the introduction of AI brings automation, and the algorithm is responsible for analysis, which can also reduce human error.
Opponents worry that the initial special use will eventually become a common phenomenon and create a “dangerous precedent” on a larger scale. They cited examples of the use of new technologies in previous Olympic Games, saying that the 2012 London Olympic Games eventually led to the widespread use of video surveillance in London. The 2018 fifa World Cup experimented with speech recognition technology, and finally expanded the scope of use.
As for the French government’s insistence that facial recognition is not involved, opponents believe that “facial recognition” is just a function waiting to be activated, except that video surveillance may violate personal rights such as privacy, and it is only a matter of time before using similar technologies.
As far as technology itself is concerned, it is also controversial, especially when the powerful ChatGPT leads to discussion. Not long ago, the appearance of ChatGPT shocked the scientific and technological circles. With the passage of time, public opinion has gradually shifted from the initial admiration for the technological revolution to the concern that technology is out of control. Musk and other big names have jointly issued an open letter calling on the AI lab to immediately suspend training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least half a year.
The AI video surveillance proposed by France is also such a new technical form. Arnaud Touati, a lawyer specializing in digital law, said that the company uses computer software to analyze the images taken by surveillance cameras in real time. The algorithms used in the software are mainly based on machine learning technology, which will be improved and adapted to the new situation over time.
Human rights organizations are more concerned about the potential discrimination of AI technology. They pointed out that seemingly ruthless algorithms may actually contain discriminatory prejudice, and immigrants and people of color will be the targets. “These algorithms will be trained with a set of data determined and designed by human beings, and these data will be incorporated into the discriminatory bias of designers. In addition, the use of this technology in large-scale occasions such as the Olympic Games will further highlight the discriminatory and racist bias of the algorithm. Katia Roux, a technology and human rights expert, said.
In addition to the hidden dangers of technology itself, the French bill will also conflict with the legislation of the European Union, which will set a negative precedent in the European continent and lead to subsequent legal proceedings.
Two years ago, the European Union began to enact the AI Act to regulate and supervise the use of AI technology by companies, public departments and law enforcement agencies. However, due to internal differences and the sustained and rapid development of OpenAI technology, Brussels is facing no small challenge, and the bill is still being debated. Analysts believe that even in the best case, European parliamentarians can quickly reach a compromise, but there is a high probability that it will not be passed before the Paris Olympic Games in 500 days. Therefore, the French government is not expected to be under great external pressure in the short term, but legal problems may arise in the future.
Earlier, about 40 European parliamentarians jointly warned that “France is using the Olympic Games as an excuse to create a precedent for monitoring unprecedented in Europe. Through this law, France will become the first country among the 27 EU countries to legalize video surveillance, and set a “dangerous precedent”, “sending an extremely worrying signal to those countries that try to use this technology.
From the inside of France, the people in this country are caught in a wave of protests against pension reform, and the topic of AI video surveillance has not attracted their wide attention. However, the government of Macron may still face challenges from the country’s Constitutional Court. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether AI video surveillance can finally appear in the Paris Olympic