US EditionThis ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops
- American police departments are spending large amounts of money on a technology called Overwatch from Massive Blue, which utilizes AI-generated online personas to gather intelligence on college protesters and suspected traffickers, according to 404 Media's investigation.
- Concerns are rising about Overwatch's potential for surveillance of law-abiding citizens, especially after the Trump administration revoked student visas for many protesting against Israel's actions in Gaza, raising issues around surveillance and civil liberties.
- During discussions about funding, Pinal County Supervisor Cavanaugh expressed the need for justification, stating he would support funding if Overwatch leads to arrests, emphasizing the importance of using taxpayer money carefully.
9 Articles
9 Articles
Cops deploy undercover AI bots to infiltrate college protests: report
An artificial intelligence program that's sold to police departments is being used to infiltrate and spy on college protest groups with "undercover" bots, reported Wired on Thursday."Massive Blue, the New York–based company that is selling police departments the technology, calls its product Overwatch and markets it as an 'AI-powered force multiplier for public safety' that 'deploys lifelike virtual agents, which infiltrate and engage criminal n…
404media.co
This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops
This article was produced with support from WIRED. This reporting was also the product of dozens of public records requests.📄This article was primarily reported using public records requests. We are making it available to all readers as a public service. FOIA reporting can be expensive, please consider subscribing to 404 Media to support this work. Or send us a one time donation via our tip jar here.American police departments near the United S…
Police Using AI Personas to Infiltrate Online Activist Spaces, Records Reveal
samleecole shares a report from 404 Media: American police departments near the United States-Mexico border are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an unproven and secretive technology that uses AI-generated online personas designed to interact with and collect intelligence on "college prote...
AI Personas May Be Undercover Police, Engaging With Suspects Online Through Social Media And Text
The AI frenzy is not going away anytime soon. It is only extending to more industries and being adopted by wider audiences and institutions. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to incorporate technology to help perform daily, mundane tasks. Not only are the tech giants increasingly opting for it, but also government agencies. Now it seems like police departments are also using AI tools to go undercover in digital spaces. The U.S. police …
This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s An AI-Powered Undercover Bot For Cops - Cybernoz - Cybersecurity News
On June 5, a Pinal County Board of Supervisors meeting was asked to approve a $500,000 contract between the county and Massive Blue in order to license Overwatch. “I was looking at the website for Massive Blue, and it’s a one-pager with no additional information and no links,” Kevin Cavanaugh, the then-supervisor for District 1, said to Pinal County’s Chief Deputy at the Sheriff’s Office, Matthew Thomas. “They produce software that we buy, and i…
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