Thousands of passengers passing through some of the UK's busiest train stations have been scanned with AI cameras that can predict their age, gender and even their emotions.
Newly released documents from Network Rail, obtained by civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, reveal how people travelling through London Euston, London Waterloo, Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds and other smaller stations have had their faces scanned by Amazon AI software over the past two years.
Object recognition is a type of machine learning that can identify items in video feeds. In the case of Network Rail, AI surveillance technology was used to analyse CCTV footage and alert staff to safety incidents, reduce fare dodging and make stations more efficient.
Transport for London (TfL) has also trialled cameras enabled with AI and the results are "startling", said James O'Malley in The House magazine, "revealing the potential, both good and bad".
One particularly ambitious recent trial at Willesden Green in northwest London used AI software tapped into the CCTV to help reduce fare evasion and alert staff to aggressive behaviour.
One of the most eye-catching sections of the Network Rail documents described how Amazon's Rekognition system, which allows face and object analysis, was deployed to "predict travellers' age, gender and potential emotions – with the suggestion that the data could be used in advertising systems in the future", said Wired.
AI-powered "smart stations" could make the passenger experience "safer, cleaner and more efficient", said O'Malley, but the use of image recognition calls for a delicate balance of "protecting rights with convenience and efficiency". |