THE PARIS Olympics has sparked huge controversy after a new law increasing surveillance in France was approved by the courts.
In April, French Parliament passed legislation introducing an artificial intelligence-powered security system designed to identify threats to safety.
The law plans to deliver greater safety for the Olympic Games in the summer 2024, but will come into effect immediately.
The algorithmic video surveillance [AVS] will be used to monitor crowds consisting of 300 or more people.
But it will not use facial recognition or any other biometric systems to identify individuals, and will instead look out for strange movements, unusual behaviours, fires, suspicious objects like abandoned bags and other potential dangers.
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The system will alert security forces to emergencies, with Games organisers and the French government wanting to use every tool available to prevent major security incidents.
The legislation states the system will not function after the Olympics end but critics fear the government could extend its use.
Critics including Amnesty International and Members of the EU Parliament are concerned about the system's level of intrusion, with claims AVS is actually not effective in deterring crime.
Noemie Levain, a legal adviser for a French digital rights group told RFI: “This is a massive surveillance tool that allows police to analyse our behaviour… and to decide who is normal and who is suspicious based on their own stereotypes.”
French courts decided to approve the new measures because it ensures humans permanently control "the development, implementation and possible evolution of algorithmic processing."
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However members of the public have concerns about what they view as government overreach.
One said: "Unsettling."
A third said: "The AI takeover is almost unstoppable."
