Thousands of UK train passengers may have had their faces scanned by Amazon software as part of extensive artificial intelligence (AI) trials conducted at eight train stations, including London's Euston and Waterloo stations and Manchester Piccadilly. The AI surveillance technology was used for various purposes, such as detecting safety incidents, reducing certain types of crime, and analysing passenger demographics. The trials, overseen by Network Rail, utilised object recognition and wireless sensors to monitor and predict platform overcrowding, identify potential safety hazards, and even analyse emotions like happiness, sadness, and anger.
The scale of the AI trials was exposed in a series of documents obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request by the digital rights group Big Brother Watch (BBW).
In a statement, Jake Hurfurt, BBW Head of Research & Investigations, said: "Network Rail had no right to deploy discredited emotion recognition technology against unwitting commuters at some of Britain's biggest stations, and I have submitted a complaint to the Information Commissioner about this trial. It is alarming that as a public body it decided to roll out a large scale trial of Amazon-made AI surveillance in several stations with no public awareness, especially when Network Rail mixed safety tech in with pseudoscientific tools and suggested the data could be given to advertisers."
In related news, an article in the Financial Times (£) discusses the development of an AI-powered system called an EmotionCancelling Voice Conversion Engine, which is being developed by a research institute established by SoftBank in Tokyo. The technology aims to protect call centre employees from customer harassment and verbal abuse. The system is still in its R&D phase, with commercialisation and installation in call centres not expected before March 2026.
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