Argentine security services have announced plans to use artificial intelligence to “predict future crimes”, but experts warn the move could jeopardise citizens’ rights.
Far-right President Javier Milei has created the Artificial Intelligence Applied to Security Unit, which will use algorithms to analyze historical crime data.
The data produced will then be used to predict future crimes, The guard has reported.
The security unit is also expected to be able to use facial recognition software to track wanted individuals and detect suspicious activity.
However, the Minority Report-style resolution has raised concerns among human rights activists who fear that certain groups in society are being overly monitored by AI technology.
Pictured: Argentine President Javier Milei delivers a speech in Buenos Aires on July 28
Pictured: Riot police in Buenos Aires in August 2022
Argentina’s President Javier Milei arrives at the official opening ceremony of the 136th Annual Rural Society Exhibition in Buenos Aires on July 28
There are also concerns about who will have access to the information the security unit produces.
Mariela Belski, director of Amnesty International Argentina, said: “Mass surveillance undermines freedom of expression because it forces people to self-censor or suppress their ideas or criticism if they suspect that everything they comment on, post or publish is being monitored by security forces.”
The Argentine Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information added that similar technology has been used in the past to profile people working as “academics, journalists, politicians and activists.”
They added that this could pose a threat to the privacy of those involved.
Milei came to power late last year and is known for his tough approach to crime.
Since then, his government has cracked down on the protests, with riot police using tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators.
Milei came to power late last year and is known for his tough approach to crime
Pictured: A general view of the closing ceremony of the Great Argentine Rural Exhibition, which was attended by Milei
The government of Mili has cracked down on the protests with heavy-handed force, using riot police to fire tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators
According to reports, Patricia Bullrich, Milei’s security minister, also wants to introduce a carbon copy of El Salvador’s controversial prison model in Argentina.
The South American country has a long history of state repression. During the dictatorship between 1976 and 1983, around 30,000 people were displaced.
Thousands of people were also tortured and hundreds of children were abducted during the period of repression.
A source within Argentina’s security services told the Guardian that the new unit will operate within the current legal framework.