CIA reveals Spacenet 'AI in the sky' that could constantly monitor activity on Earth

It sounds like something out of a sci-fi film - an AI that constantly monitors the Earth, looks for unusual activity. However, CosmiQ Works, a division of the CIA's venture arm, has revealed SpaceNet, a project with Amazon, satellite mapping firm DigitalGlobe and chip firm Nvidia to train algorithms to work out what's happening on our planet. The project will create a giant online database of hi-res images that AIs will be able to use to teach themselves - and started with images of Rio during the Olympics. SpaceNet will launch with an initial contribution of DigitalGlobe multi-spectral satellite imagery and 200,000 curated building footprints across the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 'Each minute something is happening in the world,' said said Tony Frazier, Senior Vice President at DigitalGlobe.