Thousands of people catching trains in the United Kingdom likely had their faces scanned by Amazon software as part of widespread artificial intelligence trials, new documents reveal. The image recognition system was used to predict travelers' age, gender, and potential emotions--with the suggestion that the data could be used in advertising systems in the future. During the past two years, eight train stations around the UK--including large stations such as London's Euston and Waterloo, Manchester Piccadilly, and other smaller stations--have tested AI surveillance technology with CCTV cameras with the aim of alerting staff to safety incidents and potentially reducing certain types of crime. The extensive trials, overseen by rail infrastructure body Network Rail, have used object recognition--a type of machine learning that can identify items in videofeeds--to detect people trespassing on tracks, monitor and predict platform overcrowding, identify antisocial behavior ("running, shouting, skateboarding, smoking"), and spot potential bike thieves. Separate trials have used wireless sensors to detect slippery floors, full bins, and drains that may overflow.

The first UK clinical trial of an artificial intelligence (AI) device which has the potential to transform bowel cancer care is underway at nine NHS trusts. The COLO-DETECT study is trialing the use of GI Genius, an AI device which helps clinicians identify polyps during colonoscopies. Five hundred patients have already been recruited to take part in the trial at one of nine participating trusts. The AI device is capable of highlighting area that it thinks may contain a polyp – from which most bowel cancers develop. Spotting as many polyps as possible allows the area to be more closely examined to determine if polyps are present and if they need to be removed.