The AI frenzy is not going away anytime soon. It is only extending to more industries and being adopted by wider audiences and institutions. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to incorporate technology to help perform daily, mundane tasks. Not only are the tech giants increasingly opting for it, but also government agencies. Now it seems like police departments are also using AI tools to go undercover in digital spaces. The U.S. police departments are said to be using human-like AI agents that interact with individuals in order to catch offenders.
Law enforcement agencies are now creating lifelike virtual agents that infiltrate and engage with individuals online to collect evidence
Just when we thought we had seen enough of AI, there are more initiatives driven by artificial intelligence that are novel and unique in their purposes. As per a report by 404Media, U.S. law enforcement agencies are now resorting to Overwatch, an AI tool developed by Massive Blue that is meant to create lifelike virtual agents that can engage with individuals in digital environments. These AI bot personas are being used to engage directly with people on social media platforms and text messaging.
The AI agents interact with suspects by building trust through interaction and extracting information that can potentially serve as evidence against crime. Throughout this process, it is not revealed that the interaction is fake or done by law enforcement agencies. While the goal of this AI persona is to gather evidence and is meant to target serious offenders such as human traffickers, it is said that the system is also being used to communicate with radical activists or even college protestors.
Massive Blue is said to be pitching the technology to law enforcement agencies with several key uses for it, including school security, human trafficking prevention, etc. Even though the company is painting Overwatch as a solution for fighting crime, it seems that there have not been any known arrests with the given evidence so far. It could be that the agencies are keeping the information confidential or that the technology is still in its testing phase.
While we see a growing trend of law enforcement agencies using AI for surveillance and for ensuring public safety, it does raise questions regarding an ethical line that may be crossed as a result of the wider adoption, especially if the technology is being used against protestors and activists.
