Reversed Surveillance

Most of my projects begin with research into current events. In this case, the trigger was the enactment of new legislation in France in January 2023, allowing the use of AI-enhanced surveillance (AVS) for any gathering of more than 300 people. This technology is designed to automate crime detection, using algorithms that can flag abnormal behaviour in real-time. Despite reassurances from the French authorities that AVS is nothing more than a safety measure employed for the Olympic Games, their systemic hostility towards demonstrators and track record of misusing such tools place this technology under the umbrella of repressive policing. France is known for its civil unrest and long history of police violence, rooted in its colonial past. To this day, police impunity remains a significant issue.

Through my project Reversed Surveillance, I tried to visualise invasive mass surveillance technologies from a reversed perspective: by putting the police under scrutiny. This project explores how we can protect ourselves using the very tools with which we are surveilled. Using protest footage (Paris,11/03/23) available online, I collected 30.000 faces, which I categorised based on the emotional readings assigned to them by the algorithm. The process revealed that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the AI’s conclusions regarding people’s emotional states were mostly inaccurate. I then trained an algorithm to recognise different French police units. I created the blueprint for a facial recognition tool that, with the right database, can theoretically link the police officers’ faces to their RIO, the unique identification number assigned to French police officers.

This project wants to highlight the potential of surveillance technology to protect demonstrators: by reclaiming knowledge of accessible surveillance tools, it is possible to ensure police accountability.

Marcel Top was part of Face-to-Face: Arles Edition 2024.

Check out his Artist Feature Nemo Smith.