Wow, i love AI
Well at least we’re not in communist China
“We now live in a surveillance state where cameras mounted on stoplights are tracking our cars, our devices, our pets, and even us.”
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Hero running around Houston. Turns out when asked
Driving to and from Lubbock this weekend, I was struck by how many of these are along roads out in the middle of nowhere.
This guy would have never been caught without the Flock cameras. I have some reservations with them but overall very usefull. This is going to be something that will have to evolve cutting out misuses.
Automated Flock Safety license plate reader cameras helped law enforcement arrest 47-year-old Jeremy Porter for the fatal shooting of 5-year-old Zah’Layah Walter in northwest Harris County, Texas. [1, 2]
The Incident
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Date and Time: Saturday night, September 19, 2026, at about 11:30 p.m. [1, 2]
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Location: Near Grant Road and Jones Road in Cypress (northwest Harris County, northwest of Houston). [1, 2, 3]
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What Happened: Zah’Layah was riding in her family’s car with her mother and siblings, coming home from her grandmother’s house. Porter opened fire on their vehicle in an apparent road rage incident, striking the 5-year-old. She was rushed via Life Flight to a hospital where she died. Two other children in the car were hurt by shattered glass. [1, 2, 3]
The Arrest and Investigation
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The Suspect: Jeremy Porter, 47, was charged with capital murder. He was booked into the Harris County Jail. [1, 2, 3]
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Role of Cameras: Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez stated that automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology, specifically Flock cameras, played a vital role. Detectives used the system to locate Porter’s vehicle quickly, leading to his arrest on Sunday night, September 20. [1, 2, 3]
I tend to agree with you. Put better tools and monitoring in place to prevent misuse of the data. Seems foolish to throw away the cameras and hinder crime solving and crime prevention because of a few misuses by law enforcement.
It’s a balance. We give up something for the additional security from surveillance. You can always point to the good and say it’s worth it. Maybe it is.
I don’t know the right answer but understand the hesitancy for sure. It’s very big brother and once it’s in place, who knows how it will be used in the future.
I mean, yeah - just put cameras monitored by “the government” everywhere and allow access to your phones and all personal conversations at all times, and “law enforcement” will have more tools. Like confiscating guns and all weapons that could possibly hurt others, this kind of thing is very effective.
The idea that criminals would “never have been caught” without them is the kind of fear-mongering that leads to bad decisions and the relinquishment of rights that we used to value. Criminals have been caught for years without these cameras, and they would be caught in the future. What they offer is an easier path for law enforcement and a quicker resolution.
I think there’s a place for these things, but that place isn’t everywhere. And there’s no way to control the abuses that are happening - not putting the toothpaste back in that tube.
We’re getting closer to “Minority Report” style pre-crime arrests every day.
Yeah, it’s not black and white. You’re also asking for misuse with it and it will happen.
I’m not convinced of that statement. I think
there are ways to control abuses without throwing the whole system away. For example.
Mandatory Warrants: Prohibit police from conducting historical searches or tracking a specific vehicle’s patterns without first obtaining a judicial search warrant.
Anti-Stalking Penalties: Establish severe, explicit criminal penalties for any officer who intentionally uses ALPR technology to stalk, harass, or improperly monitor an individual.
Algorithmic Anomaly Flagging: Deploy mandatory, AI-driven audit systems that automatically trigger immediate lockout alerts if an officer repeatedly searches a single plate or behaves abnormally.[[
When in the public, I’m just not concerned about public surveillance of me. Put them in my house and that’s a different story.
I have no confidence that law enforcement will police itself in this regard. If they were going to do that, then it should have been in place already.
You’re good with “public surveillance” that might get sold to insurance companies or whomever? Because that’s absolutely going to happen - does already.
And what do you think of camera data that does show your house either from Flock-type cameras or from neighbors’? We’re allowing ourselves to be subjected to increasing surveillance, and there’s no way to protect that data from abuse (or there’s little effort to ensure it).
No, that should not happen and would be illegal as outlined above.
If my house can be seen from the sidewalk, or street, or a passing car, I really don’t care. It’s in the public view already.
AI tools could really cut down on abuses
and police the police.
Nah the police will simply circumvent the tools. They do it all the time already with things are already in place. Them they will justify it under the guise of catching criminals or even more so “catching child predators”
It’s very much a slippery slope and one we as a society will definitely slide all the way down.
They are already being used in ways that aren’t great and they’re only going to get better at it. And absolutely used by super villain Peter Thiel and his company of evil doers at Palantir
Yeah, I’m not going to trust that AI developed by law enforcement or Flock is going to be to the public’s benefit when it comes to privacy concerns. “AI” isn’t some objective gatekeeper.
This data is kind of similar to the ability to track down car owners by using license plate info. It’s supposed to be limited, but I know several people who are able to do this.
Not with AI.
I responded but 91 beat me to it. The people developing these AI’s and using them are on the same team.
I don’t want UT developing the AI officials for the NCAA either
Texas used to have license plate data online that you could access thru a company (publicdata.com ?). That was years ago. But, if as you say it’s happening today(I don’t doubt it) , that’s probably an abuse situation.
The customer ( law enforcement, HOA, etc) actually own the data.
I’m really not aware of any AI tools being used today that police the local police. I feel that could not be easily circumvented.
“Owning” the data and “controlling” it are not the same thing. I own the water under my land, but I don’t control where it goes. Transmitted data presents the same challenge, and the parties involved aren’t particularly concerned with ownership or privacy when money and power are in play.
Also, the irony of using AI to tell me why AI is the answer is… 