Big Brother Watch has uncovered documents revealing that eight train stations trialled Amazon’s AI surveillance software with their CCTV cameras – with some analysing passengers’s age, gender and emotions.
Over the past two years, eight train stations across the UK—including major hubs like London’s Euston and Waterloo, Manchester Piccadilly, as well as several smaller stations—have implemented AI surveillance technology using CCTV cameras. This initiative aims to alert staff to safety incidents and potentially reduce certain types of crime.
Jake Hurfurt, Head of Research & Investigations at Big Brother Watch, said: “Network Rail had no right to deploy discredited emotion recognition technology against unwitting commuters at some of Britain’s biggest stations, and I have submitted a complaint to the Information Commissioner about this trial. It is alarming that as a public body it decided to roll out a large scale trial of Amazon-made AI surveillance in several stations with no public awareness, especially when Network Rail mixed safety tech in with pseudoscientific tools and suggested the data could be given to advertisers.”
“Technology can have a role to play in making the railways safer, but there needs to be a robust public debate about the necessity and proportionality of tools used. AI-powered surveillance could put all our privacy at risk, especially if misused, and Network Rail’s disregard of those concerns shows a contempt for our rights.”
WIRED – Amazon-Powered AI Cameras Used to Detect Emotions of Unwitting UK Train Passengers
The Times – Network Rail ‘secretly used AI to read passengers’ emotions’