AI surveillance

Flock Safety

2026-08-20 11:34:16

Flock’s AI policing tool can identify drivers without names or plates, report says

Flock Safety, the surveillance company whose camera network spans more than 6,000 U.S. communities, is facing fresh scrutiny after Wired reported that the company has built an AI investigative tool capable of identifying and following drivers using movement patterns alone. According to the report, the system—once called Nightshift and now renamed OS Investigate—was discovered in code pulled from files hosted on Flock’s own site and accessible through its login pages. Flock said the product remains in development and is being tested with a small group of law enforcement partners. Wired described a system that lets officers choose from 69 preset prompts or write their own queries. Some of those prompts reportedly require no name, plate number, or physical description. Instead, an officer can enter a location, a time window, and a behavioral pattern, such as vehicles visiting several retail stores over several days or multiple banks within a week, and the software returns matching people. The report also says the code contains association logic that looks for repeated co-appearance near the same cameras. The disclosure has intensified criticism from civil-liberties advocates, former police officers, and lawmakers. Flock maintains that OS Investigate is separate from its license-plate reader product and says the tool’s features could change before any broader release.

680

People's Publ

2026-08-02 12:29:00

Chinese police university researchers build AI system to trace Bitcoin laundering with about 90% accuracy

Researchers at the People’s Public Security University of China have developed an AI framework that can detect illicit cryptocurrency transactions with an overall accuracy of close to 90%, according to BlockBeats. The study was published in the Chinese peer-reviewed journal Intelligence Magazine. Sun Jingchao, the corresponding author and a researcher focused on criminal investigation and cybersecurity, said the framework offers “an accurate, scalable and explainable solution” for identifying illegal crypto transactions. He added that it provides regulators with “an innovative technical path” for combating illicit crypto activity and economic crime. The system uses a memory module and a large language model to identify the anonymous and cross-border traits of cryptocurrency activity, with a focus on tracking money laundering and similar illicit flows. Its release comes as China continues to step up enforcement tied to crypto-related financial crime. In March, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate said prosecutors had already brought charges against 3,259 people in 2025 in money laundering cases involving virtual currencies and underground banks.

1890

Keigo Higashi

2026-07-27 07:43:09

Keigo Higashino dies at 68 as readers revisit his fiction on AI surveillance

Japanese mystery writer Keigo Higashino died of colorectal cancer on July 23 at the age of 68, with the news announced by longtime publishing partner Kodansha on July 27 and confirmed by NHK, Sponichi and Oricon. His latest Galileo series novel, "Eien no Kioku" (tentatively translated as "Eternal Memory"), is still scheduled for release on Aug. 5 by Bungeishunju, turning the book into a posthumous final work. Born in Osaka in 1958, Higashino studied electrical engineering at Osaka Prefecture University and worked as an engineer at DENSO before winning the Edogawa Rampo Prize in 1985 for "Houkago" ("After School"). After years of modest sales, he broke through with "Secret," "Byakuyako" ("Journey Under the Midnight Sun") and later "The Devotion of Suspect X," which won both the Naoki Prize and the Honkaku Mystery Award in 2006. His books have sold more than 100 million copies in Japan. ABMedia also highlighted how several of Higashino’s works engaged early with questions that now sit at the center of AI governance debates, including DNA databases, algorithmic policing, facial recognition and the limits of machine inference.

12450

prediction ma

2026-07-24 02:05:18

Pred CEO Says Prediction Markets Need Integrity Infrastructure to Survive

Pred CEO Amit Mahensaria says prediction markets need surveillance, clear settlement rules, anti-manipulation tools, and transparent reporting. He backs self-regulation, but argues that proportionate government oversight is also necessary.

250

South Korea

2026-07-23 23:15:17

South Korea Rolls Out Real-Time AI Surveillance to Catch Crypto Market Manipulation

South Korea’s financial watchdog has integrated AI into real-time exchange monitoring to detect coordinated trading, abnormal price swings, and suspicious volume spikes before market damage spreads.

470

Seattle Shiel

2026-07-23 23:10:17

Seattle Shield Exposed: Amazon, Meta, and FBI Share Intelligence Network as AI Surveillance Era Dawns

Seattle Police launched a private intelligence network called Seattle Shield in 2009, involving Amazon, Meta, FBI, ICE, and hundreds of others. Leaked member lists from 2020 reveal a shift from counter-terrorism to monitoring protests; a 2025 memo redefines protest speech as terrorism indicator. AI-driven SAR systems turn manual tips into algorithmic inputs, raising privacy alarms.

640

Bithumb

2026-07-23 05:50:14

South Korea Probes Bithumb Bitcoin Error After 17% Market Drop

South Korea’s financial regulator has escalated its review of Bithumb after a mistaken Bitcoin distribution during a promotional event triggered heavy selling and a brief 17% price drop.

480

Polymarket

2026-07-22 20:40:14

Polymarket Teams Up with Palantir: AI Surveillance System Aims to Clean Up Sports Prediction Markets

Polymarket partners with Palantir and TWG AI to deploy Vergence AI, a real-time monitoring system designed to detect insider trading and manipulation in sports prediction markets, starting with a regulated U.S. platform.

490