Your license plate is probably in the massive database ICE just got access to
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has signed a contract with Vigilant Solutions, which owns a database of two billion images of license plate tagged with dates, times, and GPS coordinates.
How it could work: According to the Verge, ICE agents could use the database to perform searches that would show every place a license plate was spotted in the past five years. That would allow agents to build a clear profile of where and with whom a person spends time. The system can also send real-time e-mail alerts for new photos of a particular plate.
Taking issue: The ACLU warns that the technology, ostensibly meant for tracking down undocumented immigrants, could be turned into a tool that tracks all Americans.
Deep Dive
Artificial intelligence
A Roomba recorded a woman on the toilet. How did screenshots end up on Facebook?
Robot vacuum companies say your images are safe, but a sprawling global supply chain for data from our devices creates risk.
The viral AI avatar app Lensa undressed me—without my consent
My avatars were cartoonishly pornified, while my male colleagues got to be astronauts, explorers, and inventors.
Roomba testers feel misled after intimate images ended up on Facebook
An MIT Technology Review investigation recently revealed how images of a minor and a tester on the toilet ended up on social media. iRobot said it had consent to collect this kind of data from inside homes—but participants say otherwise.
How to spot AI-generated text
The internet is increasingly awash with text written by AI software. We need new tools to detect it.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.