Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Precrime CCTV Cameras Now In Britain
'Precrime' CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras and their associated software are now able to "predict" if a crime is about to be committed. The system is the product of Smart CCTV.
Rather than merely analyzing individual frames, the software can alert operators to suspicious behavior, like unusually slow walking or loitering.
In this first frame from one of Britain's 'precrime' CCTV cameras, two men appear to approach one another on an otherwise deserted street. Could a meeting of criminal masterminds be in the offing?
(Precrime CCTV frame 1: A meeting?)
In the second frame below, the two men are exchanging words and possibly more. Is this some sort of transaction? The system alerts the operator.
(Precrime CCTV frame 2: A transaction?)
British officials are beside themselves with joy at this new toy:
Councillor Jason Fazackarley of Portsmouth Council said: 'It's the 21st century equivalent of a nightwatchman, but unlike a night-watchman it never blinks, it never takes a break and it never gets bored.'
British citizens, who are currently being watched by 4.2 million CCTV cameras, are understandably a bit concerned. One Daily Mail reader comments on the story:
The presence of fully trained Police is the proven best deterrent. Britain is the most 'spied on' nation in the EU - some say the world - the results being the highest crime and drug rates recorded. Proposals are, therefore, a total waste of taxpayers money and a gross infringment on privacy and freedom for all law abiding citizens. Spend the money on recruiting fully trained (not cheap, profit making versions) of police officers ...... criminals can immobolize CCTV cameras but not police presence.
Nick Hewitson, managing director of Smart CCTV, which has created the technology, denied it was a further infringement on privacy.
SF readers of course remember the somewhat more labor-intensive precrime analytical wing from the 1956 story Minority Report, by Philip K. Dick. In the story, precognitives (precogs) who could see into the future were used to predict crimes of passion before they happened.
Doors opened and closed, and they were in the analytical wing. Ahead of them rose impressive banks of equipment - the data-receptors, and the computing mechanisms that studied and restructured the incoming material. And beyond the machinery sat the three precogs, almost lost to view in the maze of wiring...In the gloomy half-darkness the three idiots sat babbling. Every incoherent utterance, every random syllable, was analyzed, compared and reassembled in the form of visual symbols, transcribed on conventional punchcards, and ejected into various coded slots. All day long the idiots babbled, imprisoned in their special high-backed chairs, held in one rigid position by metal bands, and bundles of wiring, clamps... (Read more about the precrime analytical wing)
In Steven Spielberg's 2002 movie Minority Report made from Dick's story, Precrime police officer Tom Cruise uses a cool glove gesture interface to find the visual images needed to make a case. Take a look at this gesture interface excerpt from Minority Report to see how the computer system can be used to find crimes before they happen.
Peruse this retrospective of real-life 'precrime' systems:
- 'Precrime' Database For London Homicide Prevention Unit
This pilot project seeks to identify people who will in the future commit serious crimes. - Computer Predicts Robbery
"He predicted it and he was right," Police Commissioner Robert Taggart said. - Future Attribute Screening Technologies
A fusion of sensor technologies that would allow operators to detect malicious intent or "hostile thoughts" on the part of people passing through a checkpoint.
From Daily Mail; thanks to Moira for the tip on this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/28/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 9 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.
Vietnam To Have Full Biometric Transparency
'inscriptions too small to be seen with the naked eye; microscopic data...' - Eric Frank Russell, 1939.
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
