Kansas City, Missouri, is currently at the center of a debate as officials prepare to deploy AI-powered facial recognition software on a portion of the city’s public bus fleet. According to Associated Press, the project aims to identify missing persons and individuals on a list of banned riders. Still, there are questions about the balance between public safety and personal privacy, with the state refusing to fund the project because of the facial recognition component.
Tyler Means, the chief mobility and strategy officer at the Kansas City Transportation Authority, acknowledged the complexity of the situation to AP News. “Privacy is always a tricky thing,” Means said. “We’ve always had cameras on our buses. It’s just new technology. I think in time it’ll smooth over and people will realize, ‘Well, it didn’t really feel any different.’”
