Experimental drone uses AI to spot violence in crowds

[Judi Lynn]

Whether or not it works well in practice is another story.

Jon Fingas, @jonfingas
1h ago in Robots

Drone-based surveillance still makes many people uncomfortable, but that isn't stopping research into more effective airborne watchdogs. Scientists have developed an experimental drone system that uses AI to detect violent actions in crowds. The team trained their machine learning algorithm to recognize a handful of typical violent motions (punching, kicking, shooting and stabbing) and flag them when they appear in a drone's camera view. The technology could theoretically detect a brawl that on-the-ground officers might miss, or pinpoint the source of a gunshot.

As The Verge warned, the technology definitely isn't ready for real-world use. The researchers used volunteers in relatively ideal conditions (open ground, generous spacing and dramatic movements). The AI is 94 percent effective at its best, but that drops down to an unacceptable 79 percent when there are ten people in the scene. As-is, this system might struggle to find an assailant on a jam-packed street -- what if it mistakes an innocent gesture for an attack? The creators expect to fly their drone system over two festivals in India as a test, but it's not something you'd want to rely on just yet.

There's a larger problem surrounding the ethical implications. There are questions about abuses of power and reliability for facial recognition systems. Governments may be tempted to use this as an excuse to record aerial footage of people in public spaces, and could track the gestures of political dissidents (say, people holding protest signs or flashing peace symbols). It could easily combine with other surveillance methods to create a complete picture of a person's movements. This might only find acceptance in limited scenarios where organizations both make it clear that people are on camera and with reassurances that a handshake won't lead to police at their door.

More:
https://www.engadget.com/2018/06/06/drones-use-ai-to-spot-violence-in-crowds/

[lapfog_1]

1. Larry Niven in 1972s Cloak of Anarchy

"Someone at police headquarters had expected that. Twice the usual number of copseyes floated overhead, waiting. Gold dots against blue, basketball-sized, twelve feet up. Each a television eye and a sonic stunner, each a hookup to police headquarters, they were there to enforce the law of the Park...
Within King's Free Park was an orderly approximation of anarchy. People were searched at the entrances. There were no weapons inside. The copseyes, floating overhead and out of reach were the next best thing to no law at all.

There was only one law to enforce. All acts of attempted violence carried the same penalty for attacker and victim. Let anyone raise his hand against his neighbor, and one of the golden basketballs would stun them both.

They would wake separately, with copseyes watching. It was usually enough. No violence."


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Of course, something goes wrong and all of the copeyes are knocked out at once.