Mississippi will not be utilizing AI-powered cameras to issue tickets to drivers or spy on motorists, Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell assured after an approved deal between his office and a technology company sparked widespread backlash.
During a June 18 meeting, the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Service’s board approved a three-year contract between DPS and AI-focused technology company Acusensus. The deal is worth more than $2 million and would allow the state to utilize the company’s lease mobile, multi-violation detection, and real-time enforcement systems.
These systems, according to Australia-headquartered Acusensus’s website, can take high-resolution photos of a vehicle, its license plate, and can detect “prosecutable evidence of illegal driver behavior,” including texting while behind the wheel. The systems can send real-time alerts to law enforcement, allowing police to act on the notifications.
When it was announced that the state’s agreement with the company had been approved for law enforcement purposes, incorrect information circulated online, with the masses being led to believe that the Mississippi Highway Patrol was going to start using AI-powered cameras to allow troopers to write tickets for offenses caught on film. This ignited a whirlwind of responses with many citizens voicing outrage and concern.
Tindell, who has been the state’s public safety commissioner since June 2020, said that is not what his team would be doing with data collected by the Acusensus devices. The commissioner said the technology would be used to identify areas of the state that are most prone to fatal collisions, so that officials can collaborate on an action plan to maximize public safety.
“DPS has not and will not enter into any such contract,” Tindell said in a video posted to Facebook. “What we did do is seek a proposal from a company that would utilize cameras and data to help us identify areas of our state that have a higher probability of fatal crashes and accidents, that, in doing so, we could better allocate resources to those areas.”
For those still unsure about the presence of AI cameras on Mississippi roadways, Tindell added that he and his team have no interest in violating citizens’ rights. He insisted that no tickets would be issued based on data received from the devices. The only agenda, per Tindell, would be to make Mississippi a safer place to drive.
“We would not do anything with this technology that would violate the rights of our citizens, and we will not utilize any such technology to issue citations to drivers on our roadways,” Tindell continued. “What we will do is work tirelessly to make Mississippi roadways safer.”
With the proposed deal between the state and Acusensus being approved by the Department of Information Technology Services, public safety officials and the company could immediately execute the contract.