Privacy and Surveillance

The development of artificial intelligence raises important concerns regarding privacy protection and population surveillance. Unlike traditional data analysis methods, AI systems can process enormous amounts of information in a very short time and identify patterns in human behavior. These capabilities can be used for beneficial purposes, such as preventing fraud or improving security, but they can also be used to monitor people excessively.

One example is facial recognition. AI-powered surveillance cameras can automatically identify individuals and track their movements across different locations. In a city where such systems are widely deployed, authorities or infrastructure operators could obtain information about where a person travels, when they are present at a particular location, and whom they come into contact with. This can be useful for identifying criminals, but unrestricted use can turn surveillance into a form of continuous monitoring.

Artificial intelligence can also analyze online activity. Internet searches, location data, purchases, social media interactions, and user preferences can be combined to build extremely detailed profiles. Algorithms can estimate which products a person prefers, what type of content they consume, or even how they are likely to behave in certain situations.

Another concern arises in companies and workplaces. Some AI systems can monitor employees’ activities, the time they spend using applications, their communications, productivity, or their use of company devices. Although monitoring may serve legitimate purposes, constant surveillance can affect employees’ freedom and create an environment in which they feel that every action is being analyzed and automatically evaluated.

There is also a risk that collected personal data could be compromised. Biometric information, conversations, images, and behavioral profiles can become targets of cyberattacks. Biometric data presents an additional problem: if a password is stolen, it can be changed, but a person’s facial features or fingerprints cannot be replaced as easily.

A particularly important issue is the combination of multiple data sources. A photograph, a video recording, location data, and online activity may seem relatively insignificant when considered separately. However, when analyzed together by an AI system, they can provide a highly detailed picture of a person’s life.

Therefore, artificial intelligence can bring significant benefits to security and crime prevention, but the same technology also risks being used for excessive surveillance, profiling, and violations of privacy. A balance between security and the right to privacy is necessary, along with clear rules governing what data can be collected, who can use it, how long it can be retained, and for what purposes.