Row over ‘virtual gated community’ AI surveillance plan in Toronto neighbourhood
TL;DR
Rosedale residents considering car licence plate-scanning Flock system in bid to tackle property crime A row has broken out in one of Canada’s wealthiest neighbourhoods over plans to use an AI-powered surveillance system to create the country’s first “virtual gated community” to combat surging property crime. Crime rates in Toronto as a whole are dropping but residents of Rosedale have been left on edge by a sustained rise in home invasions, with robbers targeting the tree-lined neighbourhood at a rate more than double the city average. Break-ins and thefts remain the third highest per capita in Toronto. Continue reading...
Nauti's Take
License plate surveillance has proven effective at reducing property crime in other deployments, so the underlying technology is not the problem here. What's worth scrutinizing is the equity angle: when only wealthy neighborhoods can afford private AI surveillance, safety becomes a luxury good rather than a public right.
Anyone driving through Rosedale gets scanned — regardless of whether they live there or consented.
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