MEDIA ARTICLE: AI is a free-for-all—and crooked cops are taking advantage (DailyKOS, 6-10-26)
AI is a free-for-all—and crooked cops are taking advantage
We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as it turns out, police officers are abusing their power. In this case, cops are getting arrested for allegedly using Flock Safety to stalk people.
Flock, which develops AI-powered surveillance systems, boasts itself as the “future of investigations” for law enforcement to help them “solve crimes faster.”
However, as its technology spreads into more officers’ hands, so do the number of abuse reports.
For instance, ALPR Abuse Library tracks potential misuse of automated license plate readers, and it has documented 20 cases of alleged stalking or harassment with the assistance of technology like Flock’s.
While officers have used it to monitor their spouses, others have used it in more insidious ways.
As reported by 404 Media, Florida police officer Jarmarus Brown allegedly used Flock’s database to run a check on his ex-girlfriend’s license plate at least 69 times.
And in court records obtained by the outlet, Brown allegedly told a colleague, police officer Shadrich King, that he knew his ex-girlfriend wasn’t at home, which was where she’d supposedly said she was.
“When questioned by Officer King as to how [Brown] knew for a fact she was lying, Jarmarus said he used the Flock system and saw that her vehicle was elsewhere,” according to the affidavit reviewed by 404 Media.
“Jarmarus then asked Officer King if he wanted to join him on a ‘stakeout’ to try to see where her vehicle was located.”
Instances like this, as well as other mass-surveillance controversies, have exploded across the nation. And some local governments have blocked Flock from being used in their areas.
But the technology’s misuse—and its lack of federal regulation—speaks to a larger problem.
On one hand, experts have been sounding the alarm on how misuse of AI is shaping public opinion and elections.
“In the political sphere, detailed analytics, targeted propaganda, and cheap, highly-believable fake videos present powerful tools for manipulating public opinion on previously unimaginable scales,” a study published by the University of Cambridge stated.
The consequences are playing out in real time as President Donald Trump and his Cabinet green-light the sector’s unwieldy, staggering growth.
Since the start of his second term, the Trump administration has paved a way for tech giants peddling AI to flourish in the U.S. The goal: to make the U.S. the “AI capital of the world.”
To do so, AI companies need more energy. And from every angle, the Trump administration has chipped away at environmental regulations while boosting energy production, especially climate-destroying coal power.
Under Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, contracts for oil drilling and uranium and coal mines have jumped. And amid his war of choice in Iran, Trump recently used wartime powers to issue a $700 million investment in coal plants.
But no matter the pushback, AI and its energy-sucking data centers are dropping into neighborhoods across the country. And the response has been, regardless of political beliefs, overwhelmingly negative.
Republicans and Democrats alike have disputed the building of data centers in their backyards. And the neighborhoods who have welcomed them are paying a heavy price.
In short, the existence of AI is controversial at just about every level. From environmental concerns to the mental health of AI-dependent youth, public outcries continue for more oversight into where this booming industry is going.
And police officers are no exception to these fears.
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8853254916147834478/2368630437576342135
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