\n
<\/p>\n
Few could have predicted that they would one day also double as nodes for surveillance.<\/p>\n
In thousands of towns and cities<\/a> across the U.S., automatic license plate readers have been installed at major intersections, bridges and highway off-ramps.<\/p>\n These camera-based systems capture the license plate data<\/a> of passing vehicles, along with images of the vehicle and time stamps. More recently, these systems are using artificial intelligence<\/a> to create a vast, searchable database that can be integrated with other law enforcement data repositories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As a scholar of technology policy and data governance<\/a>, I see the expansion of automatic license plate readers as a source of deep concern. It\u2019s happening as government authorities are seeking ways to target immigrant<\/a> and transgender communities<\/a>, are already using AI to monitor protests<\/a>, and are considering deploying AI systems for mass surveillance<\/a>.<\/p>\n Using cameras to track license plates dates to the 1970s, when the U.K. was embroiled in a long-simmering conflict with the Irish Republican Army.<\/p>\n The Met, London\u2019s police force, developed a system that used closed-circuit television cameras<\/a> to monitor and record the license plates of vehicles entering and exiting major roads.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nEyes on the road<\/h2>\n