Reading time: 2 minutes

How can artificial intelligence be used effectively in the fight against crime? - this and similar questions were addressed at the latest event of the MCC Budapest Lectures series, where data scientist Vincent Harinam, an expert from the University of Cambridge, was the guest speaker.

As it was said at the event, many big cities now have surveillance systems in place to spot crime and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. Facial recognition systems are used to identify criminals and artificial intelligence to detect violence and accidents. It also allows police officers to analyze crime trends, which helps the police predict when and where violent crime is likely to occur and ensure they have the resources to prevent it. Metadata analysis and technology is making our time truly revolutionary for law enforcement. Such surveillance systems have the huge advantage of being able to monitor an area in a more cost-effective way," said Vincent Harinam. The expert also pointed out that many people raise concerns about surveillance systems, as artificial intelligence works with data that could violate the right to privacy. The distrust of artificial intelligence stems mainly in the so-called "black box" effect, as we do not know how it draws conclusions from the data it is fed, he said. It was also discussed that surveillance systems are a deterrent not only for criminals but also for law enforcement agencies. Vincent Harinam mentioned police body cameras as an example. Police officers wearing a body camera were much less likely to be caught in police misconduct, he said.