French authorities’ plans to employ artificial intelligence to scan the thousands of athletes, coaches and spectators descending on Paris for the Olympics is a form of creeping surveillance, rights groups said.
In recent months, authorities have tested artificial intelligence surveillance equipment at football stadiums, concerts, and train stations. These devices will scan the crowds, look for abandoned packages, locate weapons, and more when the games start in late July.
According to French officials, police, fire and rescue agencies, as well as certain French transport security agents, will employ these technologies until March 31, 2025, although they won’t be fully operational until the games.
Campaigners worry that AI spying will become the new norm. “The Olympics are a huge opportunity to test this type of surveillance under the guise of security issues, and are paving the way to even more intrusive systems such as facial recognition,” Katia Roux, advocacy lead at Amnesty International France, stated.