San Francisco's car crime has plunged. How much credit does Flock deserve?
San Francisco has seen a significant decline in car thefts and break-ins, with local officials attributing the success to surveillance technologies like Flock Safety. The article explores the tension between the effectiveness of these AI-powered license plate readers and the growing privacy concerns regarding their use.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing debate over the trade-off between public safety and individual privacy in the era of pervasive AI surveillance.
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In August 2022, my truck was stolen on the streets of San Francisco. I had only lived in the city for a year, but it was the third time it was stolen or broken into. This led me to report on the epidemic of car crime around the city and how anti-theft technology made some cars harder to steal than others. The Bay Area then had one of the highest rates of car theft in the nation.
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