by Thomas Kennedy | Jul 23, 2026 | 287(g) program, AI, AI surveillance, CBP, Customs and Border Protection, data centers, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Flock Safety, Florida, ICE, license plate readers, Op-Ed, Palantir, Policing, Resistance, Ron DeSantis, Surveillance, Trump Administration
Sam Altman, the embattled CEO of the AI technology company OpenAI, vacillates between warning of a labor market doom loop due to the technology his company developed and promising a new golden era for humanity just around the corner. In an essay posted to his X account this July, he claimed that “by safely stewarding AGI [artificial general intelligence] into the world, we can enter a new…
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by Ed Vogel | Jul 16, 2026 | AI, Authoritarianism, Axon, Democracy, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, Drones, Fascism, Flock Safety, license plate readers, Op-Ed, Organizing, Policing, Resistance, Surveillance, surveillance cameras
When residents of Madison County, North Carolina, sought to speak about the county’s AI surveillance cameras at a recent Madison County Commissioners meeting, commissioner Michael Garrison’s response was simple: “You will not speak on Flock tonight.” A clip capturing Garrison’s move to prevent public comment soon went viral, resonating with others waging similar battles in their communities.
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by Mike Ludwig | Jul 10, 2026 | AI, big tech, cellphone, Flock Safety, Fourth Amendment, geo-fence, license plate readers, News, Organizing, Policing, Privacy, Supreme Court, Surveillance
Civil rights attorneys say a recent Supreme Court ruling in a landmark digital privacy case could put “wind in the sails” of local organizers challenging police deployment of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). However, those organizers in cities large and small still face both a powerful industry and police departments determined to outfit their forces with the latest tech. It will take more…
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by Ed Vogel | Oct 18, 2025 | Flock Safety, ICE, Illinois, license plate readers, Op-Ed, Public Safety, Surveillance
In a remarkable series of avoidable mistakes, elected officials in Illinois have demonstrated to the rest of the country the impossibility of meaningful regulation of police use of surveillance technology. In May of this year, 404 Media published evidence that Illinois automated license plate reader data was being accessed on behalf of federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement…
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