The US, China and the UK are the top three global producers of surveillance, finds the study.
An analysis of more than 40,000 documents and patents spanning four decades reveals a five-fold increase in the number of computer vision (CV) papers relating to downstream surveillance patents.
Governments can use tech companies to access specific user communications. This method of accessing data is referred to as downstream intelligence.
The research finds that CV, a form of AI that can train computers to emulate how humans see, is being used to conduct “pervasive surveillance of people”.
The study, published in Nature Magazine, finds that the US, China and the UK are the top three global producers of surveillance, while Microsoft, Carnegie Mellon University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are ranked as the top three institutions conducting such activities.
The joint research was conducted by Dr Abeba Birhane, the director of AI Accountability Lab (AIAL) in the ADAPT Research Centre in Trinity College of Dublin, along with collaborators from Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Washington and Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
“While the general narrative is that only a small portion of Computer Vision research is harmful, what we found instead is pervasive and normalised surveillance,” Dr Birhane said.
The new research also finds a concerning rise in language that normalises the existence of surveillance. By analysing thousands of documents, CV papers and downstream patents – or patents that build upon existing tech – the study found that surveillance is increasingly being hidden through this distracting language.
“Linguistically the field has increasingly adapted to obfuscate the existence and extent of surveillance,” Dr Birhane said.
“One such example is how the word ‘object’ has been normalised as an umbrella term which is often synonymous with ‘people’.”
She adds that the nature of pervasive and intensive data gathering and surveillance has put our rights to privacy and the freedom of movement, speech and expression under “significant threat”.
According to her, the most troublesome implication of this is the increasing difficulty of being able to “opt out, disconnect or just be”.
“Tech and applications that come from this surveillance are often used to access, monetise, coerce and control individuals and communities at the margins of society,” Dr Birhane added.
Although, the study finds a caveat. The researchers stress that regulators and policy makers can address some of the issues.
“We hope these findings will equip activists and grassroots communities with the empirical evidence they need to demand change, and to help transform systems and societies in a more rights-respecting direction,” the AIAL director said.
She also hopes that CV researchers could adopt a more “critical” approach, exercise the right to conscientious objection, collectively protest and cancel surveillance projects.
The AIAL was launched late last year, putting Birhane, who was ranked by Time Magazine as one in 100 most influential people in AI in 2023, at its helm. The lab works towards addressing the structural inequalities and transparency issues related to AI deployment.
In 2023, Birhane was also appointed to a United National AI advisory body aimed at supporting global efforts to govern AI.
In an interview with SiliconRepublic.com, Birhane rang warning bells around hyping up generative AI, highlighting issues around hallucinations and biases.
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