They are assaulting us with AI because they're desperate ...
“They are assaulting us with AI because they're desperate to accelerate the surveillance state”
Summary
AI is increasingly used by governments to expand surveillance, prompting concern from lawmakers and civil‑rights groups about privacy and civil liberties. While the technology does enable broader monitoring, the assertion that authorities are “assaulting us” and are “desperate” to accelerate a surveillance state is not supported by the evidence and reflects a subjective interpretation rather than a factual statement.
Sources 60 searched
- AI is making it very easy for the government to spy on you. Some lawmakers are worried.
“The technology allows basically ... “You can just have AI finding the patterns, aggregating data and allowing the government to build this enormous surveillance state that threatens our civil liberties.”...
- AI surveillance is being supercharged – and it will chill social progress | Bruce Schneier and Jon Penney | The Guardian
These systems will combine powerful AI, public and private surveillance via real-time facial recognition technology and digital tracking, mass databases and highly personalized enforcement.
- Hacked data shines light on homeland security’s AI surveillance ambitions | US news | The Guardian
Records show DHS tech incubator spending large sums on partnerships that would expand surveillance capabilities
- Industrial Video Surveillance AI: Benefits, Cost (2026) - Fora Soft
Mordor Intelligence puts the AI-in-video-surveillance market at about $6.8B in 2026, heading to ~$13B by 2031 (~14% CAGR), with the broader intelligent-video-analytics market growing faster (~23%) and biometric analytics the hottest sub-segment ...
- How AI can enable public surveillance | Brookings
Perhaps the starkest example is in China, where AI enables surveillance on a widespread scale. Coupled with social media monitoring, cameras, and facial recognition, the technology enables authorities to track dissidents and government critics ...
- Where does federal AI spending stand in 2026? | Brookings
In 2022, 15 codes were used while just 13 codes were included in the 2024 and 2026 budgets. For funding obligated by the government, NAICS 54 was the most common code used, followed by NAICS 51.
- Forget the Singularity: Universal AI Surveillance Is Here – The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
That bizarre scenario took place in 2018 — and since then China’s use of Sharp Eyes technology has advanced exponentially. A May 2026 article in DW.com, Germany’s public-broadcasting network, explained that “China’s state surveillance machine …
- AI-Powered Surveillance Is Turning the United States into a Digital Police State. Now is the Time to Stop It. - ACLU of Massachusetts
No state laws regulate the use of this location tracking technology. The proliferation of surveillance cameras across Massachusetts cities and towns has created a foundation for AI-powered monitoring that extends far beyond what was previously ...
- Machine Surveillance is Being Super-Charged by Large AI Models | American Civil Liberties Union
Until then, the ACLU says, “we don’t know if the tool is a real security measure or just window dressing.” Dozens of communities across the country have successfully convinced their leaders to cancel Flock contracts, suspend their ALPR programs, or deactivate the cameras, with many more cities considering new legislation to rein in this mass warrantless surveillance tech. In June, the ACLU launched its “Get the Flock Out” campaign to bring together the litigation, advocacy, and legislative efforts of ACLU affiliates in each state, show how communities across the country are fighting back against the spread of Flock and other license plate readers, and lay out how lawmakers at the local, state, and federal level can best protect our rights.
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