Скачать или смотреть ARIZONA PROTESTS UNDER AI-DRIVEN MASS SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS

On this Labor Day, citizens filled the streets to protest. What they didn’t realize is that they gathered under the unblinking eyes of AI-driven mass surveillance. Just feet away stood a Flock Safety camera.

City leaders insist these cameras only capture license plates, not faces. But for protestors who drove in and out of this south Goodyear community, their movements may have been quietly logged. Goodyear confirms it now operates 44 Flock cameras, and here in Estrella Mountain Ranch, they are mounted at every entrance and exit.

When I asked protestors if they knew what the cameras were, what they can track, or the potential implications — most admitted they did not. Some dismissed the concern entirely. “What difference does it make?” one said. “I smiled at it,” said another.

Ironically, many of the protestors—who said they were rallying against Trump and the jailing of undocumented immigrants prior to deportation—did not realize the AI camera looming overhead may share information with ICE. That is precisely why Illinois shut down its Flock network last week.

An audit there revealed unauthorized access by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, violating a 2023 state law that forbids sharing license plate data for immigration or reproductive health enforcement. The Secretary of State ordered access terminated, Flock paused federal pilot programs, and cities like Evanston and Oak Park are now cutting ties altogether.

This report includes insight from Naomi Brockwell and Shawn Dow.