Published: 29 March 2022
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Netanya has announced it is forming a partnership with an artificial intelligence firm with the goal of setting up an automatic enforcement system for the city
NETANYA, A COASTAL city located to the north of Tel Aviv, announced its intention of working with a firm called Incontrol and acquiring their artificial intelligence system. The AI system has computer vision capabilities which would analyse images of passers-by in parks and other open areas, as well as deciphering aerial photos, all for the sake of enforcing the city’s bylaws and keeping the streets clean.
The announcement of the plans was made as part of the local municipality’s desire to skip the official tender process. The system the city is interested in will identify people who don’t collect their dogs’ droppings, based on a database consisting of dog photos, as well as identifying people entering city parks after closing times, the license plate numbers of motorcycles driving wildly, electric bicycles riding on sidewalks and gatherings in public spaces. The system will also spot changes in structures across the city, based on aerial photography, with the hopes of finding illegal construction.
The city’s plan to systematically collect data on people walking down the street and share it with a private business is already evoking criticism among jurists and people involved with technology. “A public body has a duty to act within reason, in a reasonable and justifiable manner.
One may ask whether it is reasonable to photograph and follow members of the public at all times in order to ensure that you pick up after your dog or that you don’t enter a park after hours,” says Dr Omri Rachum-Twaig, a cyber and IT partner at the Fischer-Behar (FBC) law firm and a lecturer at Tel Aviv University.
FULL STORY AI vs dog poop: ‘black mirror’ in Israel as town eyes autonomous enforcement (Haaretz)
