Despite the recent escalation in toxic politics impacting public trust, and fuelling social disruption in the United States; US intelligence services have received some attention for their own plans in digital surveillance. Should US citizens be concerned? I would qualify any answer with context around security and risk, for people living their lives in these cities, or states, or country.
The current threat landscape for US spy agencies presents a real justification for this type of digital surveillance. Sociable.co ran a good article last February on the topic. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity’s (IARPA) LINC program has ambitious goals for AI driven autonomous surveillance of people, vehicles, and objects.
US Spy Agencies Adopt AI
The AI based architecture is clear by the above article, which will help US emergency services respond more effectively to major incidents. It will also help city planners refine how US cities can work better. The reasons presented also point to a greater level of forensic analysis, which would be another key benefit of such a scaled surveillance platform.
Jack Debaut, in my novel, “From Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows”, developed prior-generation AI for use by the CIA in predicting global terror threats. Just like in my novel, this real world technology would provide an actual platform that could deliver the datasets used to predict, and rank, future scaled acts of violence.
American Trust in Government
Hostile digital subversion campaigns have been very active in influencing the American view of, and level of trust in, government. Russia is just one of a few notable authoritarian states who spent years refining their methods and skills in digital subversion. It transformed their approach to hostile acts against the United States.
Americans have had a long and varied history with their government. American regimes over the years have been unsuccessful in bridging the gap around social issues in particular. Now, we see lingering social issues in the United States, turned into social levers with all the hallmarks of external subversion.
From Terror to Valor: Echoes and Shadows, available on pre-order for September 11th release.
It’s too easy to just write off causes of mistrust of the government. For some, it’s always been like that, which hides the current level of hostile activity. When considering if this research project by IARPA is a good idea, one needs to mull over its implications over the short, medium and long term.
Mostly, Americans will not notice its development, deployment, and use. Ethical stewardship by the US government will ensure this. This is where trust comes in. I think US spy agencies have been key in opposition to internal subversion, protection of people, and tyrannical plans like Project 2025 from a powerful, neo-conservative community. Donald Trump’s targeting of spy agencies over the years supports this view.
Future America Where Trust Matters
What matters to Americans in these hyper disrupted times will not last the test of time. Surveillance programs like this are of merit, noting that we citizens in democracies are already subject to regulated surveillance.
I covered a smart-city tech event for Irish Tech News, just last May, at the Hungarian Embassy in Dublin, Ireland. A host of inspired tech executives from Hungary made their innovative tech presentations. What stood out for me was the licence plate technology presentation from Szabolcs Benkoczy of Adaptive Recognition.
He told us about a government agency prospect, which was somewhere in Europe. He got a list of 500 licence plates that their current provider could not track. His software could track 80% of them, which earned his company the contract. His presentation was a fine demonstration of what we already have, just made better.
America’s Future Lens
Americans need to think of the power of this technology, their trust in government and the path we are on. Technology in unethical hands will be used unethically. Conversely, ethical stewardship of powerful technology starts in senior government and filters down into government bodies, including spy agencies and metropolitan authorities.
I think that if Americans use their vote to place trustworthy people in power with this responsibility, then its rollout will make America safer. When the people and/or the Electoral College err in judgement, then the inverse is true. Threats, such as Project 2025 breathing down on all Americans, are more immediate for consideration. When it passes, Americans can get a greater sense of future America, via the double lens of security and civil liberties.
About the Author
John is a versatile author known for his gripping fiction narratives in the thriller, action, and suspense genres. With a background as a journalist since 2016, and expertise in cloud technologies as an engineer; John brings a unique blend of storytelling prowess and technical acumen to his work.
