France’s AI systems for Olympics disproportionately target minorities and expose them to violence
As the preparations for the Paris Olympics continue ahead of its start on Friday 26 July 2024, France is building up its security in anticipation of high-profile international arrivals and, of course, potential threats. One of its preventive measures includes AI-powered mass surveillance technologies to detect “suspicious behaviour.” However, advocacy groups such as Human Rights Watch have remarked that these systems have a tendency to disproportionately target racialised groups, raising concerns about increased violence towards domestic minorities.
The French authorities’ heightened vigilance is a result of the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza that could make the host country, a known ally of both Ukraine and Israel, a target for attacks.
Given that the country has already suffered lethal strikes from Islamist militants in the past, it isn’t a surprise that swaths of Paris are currently under lockdown. At the same time military and police presence are being ramped up to the maximum.
These extreme security measures have already prompted many residents to escape Paris in a bid to avoid the disruptions now entailed in navigating the city. In the new restricted perimeters, shops and restaurants are practically deserted with the flow of passers-by steadily drying up.
The first sign that this paranoia was the new normal in Paris came after the terrorist attacks in 2015. That changed everything. A miserable Berlin Wall was constructed around the Eiffel Tower. I once strolled around the ponds under the tower. Today, it's a grim forbidden zone.
— Matthew Fraser 🇪🇺 (@frasermatthew) July 21, 2024
Domestic security forces are also on high alert for political demonstrations linked to the recent snap elections, as well as disruptions from environmentalists and other activist groups.
Nevertheless, the decision to include AI systems has drawn condemnation from international advocacy groups like the Human Rights Watch, who argue that AI-powered systems have a history of making people vulnerable to racial profiling and police abuse.
“French police disproportionally target individuals on the basis of race and ethnicity, affecting particularly young Arab and Black men and boys. Ethnic profiling by French police during identity checks has been extensively documented and condemned by national and international human rights bodies and civil society groups,” Human Rights Watch wrote in a recent report.
For context, in July 2023, France was thrown into turmoil after the fatal shooting of Nahel Merzouk in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday 27 June 2023. The 17-year-old was of Moroccan and Algerian descent and was killed by a police officer, who was later charged with voluntary homicide by a person in authority.
Another concern raised by the HRW is the inadequate regulation of AI-powered systems and the potential for private companies to gain access to thousands of video cameras throughout France (I mean, it does sound a lot like the outline for George Orwell’s 1984).
Saccage 24, an anti-Olympics protest group, feared that safety precautions could aid as a step towards a dystopian future. According to Semafor, the group said that the legacy of the Games would be “long-term securitisation” across the country, in line with a broader pattern among Olympic host countries.
Do thé café and shop owners get compensation? Seems like the Paris Olympics are mostly disastrous for tourism ie empty streets, and because of security nightmares for people who live or have their livelihoods in the central ‘grey zone’. It’s also ugly with all the metal barriers https://t.co/L8jNEPDgbt
— Emma-Kate Symons (@eksymons) July 19, 2024
🇫🇷 Meanwhile in France
— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) July 12, 2024
Military vehicles from Qatar roam through the French Capital Paris - supposedly the to support security for the upcoming Olympic Games pic.twitter.com/IcPDrE3KER
Online, Parisians are watching with confusion and a sense of horror as their city is taking on the form of a highly secured fortress. According to their accounts, it’s becoming hard to remember that the Olympics are supposed to be an event for celebration and a sign of peace and international friendship. Instead, the sports spectacle is increasingly being viewed as a cause for anxiety and concern as threats, attacks and negotiating the security of different groups seem to have taken the foreground.
