On the occasion of artificial intelligence (AI) week and the launch of the Test & Experience Centre of FARI, the joint A.I. institute of the two Brussels universities VUB-ULB, the VUB is organising Datawalks through the centre of the capital starting today. During the walk, people will stop at a number of visible and invisible places with sensors or cameras that collect data about them, with or without their knowledge.
The aim of the walk is to make citizens aware of the presence of all those - sometimes minuscule - devices that have surprising capabilities. "This is not just about smart police cameras and sensors, but also traffic counters, parking sensors, private cameras and sometimes even cameras in electronic billboards," says Emilie Macarinni, Service Hub Coordinator at FARI. "During the Datawalk, we will take a closer look at who manages that data, what it is used for, where other or new interesting applications might be possible with that data... Furthermore, there is a focus on the ethical dimension of that data collection and the legal side of things. Because is collecting data without awareness even allowed?"
Cameras and sensors are popping up in unexpected places. Some electronic billboards incorporate barely visible 'James Bond'-like cameras that record how long someone looks at an ad. They are even capable of detecting if there is any enthusiasm in the viewer. The cameras would be able to detect from your facial expression whether you find the ad interesting and also collect data on your age and gender.
Data collection also allows for less oppressive applications. For instance, Brussels Mobility has installed parking sensors and cameras with number plate recognition in a pilot project in Jette. Among other things, these control an app for people with disabilities. The app navigates drivers to the nearest free parking space.
The Datawalk is an initiative of the Data and Society Knowledge Centre of the VUB research group SMIT, made possible in part by the SPECTRE project, an inter-university project on privacy and privacy awareness. The walk lasts one hour with a specialised guide from FARI accompanying the walk.
Over the next few days, several other activities by FARI are planned as part of Artificial Intelligence Week and FARI will also be present at the Printemps Numerique (24 and 25 March) with Brussels-based citizen outreach activities on AI & digital literacy.
More info on the data walk can be found here.