At Aero Ranger, we are fully aware and concerned about the ability to use computer video for both facial recognition and also profiling people in public places. The fact is that most agencies and organisations do not require or want this technology within their eco system so we have been working on adding redaction options to Aero Ranger to enable the collection of anonymised data with full audit tracking. This feature highlights the benefits of AI classification for decision making without the issues that many in the past have had due to the lack of facial redaction

Video Transcript:

Wherever you go, there's a good chance you're being recorded, but here in West Perth, it's different.

This CCTV Livestream can be accessed from anywhere, buses, cars, traffic lights, and even people identified by artificial intelligence. We're playing with the idea of, well, what if you could use it to get metadata about what's happening in that space.

The developers think it could be useful for local councils to analyze their suburbs. Are people using the sidewalk?

"Are they jaywalking or not cars are? They've got dogs that are bikes, skateboards, scooters."

Everything here is only being identified as an object. There's no facial recognition. Another program that companies developed can blur a person but still record what's around them. The technology that allows faces to be automatically pixelated is as simple as an Instagram filter. It's installed on the camera.

Facial recognition technology is being used here in Perth on trial in East Perth. Three cameras are being tested.

The city of Perth says they'll only be used at the request of police.

“Unfortunately, the rules on data and privacy haven't really kept up with all of this technology, so it is a concern.”

Laurie Campbell, Seven News