In his classic novel, 1984, George Orwell imagined how Britain might one day become a totalitarian surveillance state. Yet as Orwell's novel celebrates its 75th anniversary this month, British police are already deploying technologies that would put Big Brother to shame. From the facial recognition cameras watching you shop to the algorithms predicting crimes before they happen, these tools feel as if they've been ripped from the pages of science fiction. But there is nothing fictional about the AI cops already patrolling Britain's streets - and experts say there is only more to come. Jake Hufurt, head of research and investigations at Big Brother Watch, warned MailOnline: 'We're sleepwalking into a high-tech police state.'

The recently-departed watchdog in charge of monitoring facial recognition technology has joined the private firm he controversially approved, paving the way for the mass roll-out of biometric surveillance cameras in high streets across the country. In a move critics have dubbed an "outrageous conflict of interest", Professor Fraser Sampson, former biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner, has joined Facewatch as a non-executive director. Sampson left his watchdog role on 31 October, with Companies House records showing he was registered as a company director at Facewatch the following day, 1 November. Campaigners claim this might mean he was negotiating his Facewatch contract while in post, and have urged the advisory committee on business appointments to investigate if it may have "compromised his work in public office". It is understood that the committee is currently considering the issue.

São Paulo, Brazil – As the city of São Paulo prepares to roll out thousands of surveillance cameras with facial recognition, experts are raising concerns on the indiscriminate use of this technology in the Brazilian megalopolis could exacerbate problems such as structural racism and inequality, while also posing risks to data privacy and cybersecurity. The Smart Sampa project is the latest among a series of initiatives involving modern surveillance techniques in various Brazilian states. It is significant due to the sheer size of the population it will impact: São Paulo, the most populous city in the Southern Hemisphere, is home to 12 million people. The project aims to roll out a single video surveillance platform that integrates and supports the operations of emergency and traffic services, the city's public transport network, and police forces. By 2024, up to 20,000 cameras will be installed, and an equal number of third-party and private cameras will be integrated into the network.

In the 20 years of the "war on terror" Australia has led from the front in expanding powers for law enforcement and ramping up surveillance at the expense of public rights and freedoms. Among the seemingly endless barrage of national security legislation and surveillance that creeps into every aspect of our personal lives, more and more of our public spaces have been smothered by surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology. Corporations large and small, towns and cities, federal and state government departments and agencies have deployed these systems, snooping on us all wherever we go without any of us getting a say. State and federal law enforcement officers are accessing these technologies without any oversight. As anti-police protests spread around the world, tools and processes that exacerbate racist bias – and the wasteful spending and abuses of power that comes with it –within law enforcement and judicial systems have fallen under renewed scrutiny. Once again, Australia is lagging behind the debate.

One of the most senior policing figures in Wales has warned that the use of facial recognition technology at the country's biggest football derby this weekend could create miscarriages of justice. Arfon Jones, a veteran Welsh police officer and the North Wales police and crime commissioner, has expressed grave concern about the deployment of the surveillance technology at Sunday's clash between Cardiff City and Swansea City. Civil liberties and fan groups have also criticised South Wales police's decision to train cameras on supporters and employ facial recognition on them at the Cardiff City stadium. Jones, who served as a police officer in North Wales for 30 years, described the plans as "disproportionate". He also accused the South Wales force of being engaged in a "fishing expedition where, once again, football fans are being unfairly targeted in a way that supporters of other sports are not".

Over the past few months, high-profile incidents in the United Kingdom, one of the most surveilled societies in the world, forced people to consider how facial recognition will be used there. Brexit taking up most of the oxygen in the room hasn't made that debate any easier, but in conversations with VentureBeat, three experts from different backgrounds -- Ada Lovelace Institute director Carly Kind, the U.K.'s surveillance camera commissioner Tony Porter, and University of Essex professor Daragh Murray, who studies police use of facial recognition -- all agree that the U.K. needs to find a middle ground. All three agree that years of Brexit debate have stifled necessary reform, and that leaving the European Union could carry consequences for years to come as police and businesses continue experiments with facial recognition in the U.K. They also worry that an inability to take action could lead to calls for a ban or overregulation, or far more dystopian scenarios of facial recognition everywhere. The Terminator's got serious competition for symbolizing the fear of technology trampling human rights. Facial recognition has become a major issue around the globe due both to its deeply personal and pervasive nature as well as advances in AI that now make it work in real time. In democratic societies worldwide, facial recognition is challenging lawmakers to confront how AI will shape society and is redefining attitudes toward artificial intelligence.

Fox News Flash top headlines for Sept. 12 are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com California could soon become the largest state to ban the use of facial recognition technology in law enforcement body cameras, a significant milestone in the regulation of the burgeoning technology. The State Assembly on Thursday passed AB 1215, a bill that would impose a three-year moratorium on the technology, garnering praise from privacy and civil liberties advocates. The legislation now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

How would you feel being watched, tracked and identified by facial recognition cameras everywhere you go? Facial recognition cameras are now creeping onto the streets of Britain and the U.S., yet most people aren't even aware. As we walk around, our faces could be scanned and subjected to a digital police line up we don't even know about. There are over 6 million surveillance cameras in the U.K. – more per citizen than any other country in the world, except China. In the U.K., biometric photos are taken and stored of people whose faces match with criminals – even if the match is incorrect. As director of the U.K. civil liberties group Big Brother Watch, I have been investigating the U.K. police's "trials" of live facial recognition surveillance for several years. Understandably, people are shocked when they see facial recognition cameras appearing on their streets – and many people strongly object to it.

Much more rapidly than anyone originally thought possible, facial recognition technology has become part of the cultural mainstream. Facebook, for example, now uses AI-powered facial recognition software as part of its core social networking platform to identify people, while law enforcement agencies around the world have experimented with facial recognition surveillance cameras to reduce crime and improve public safety. But now it looks like society is finally starting to wake up to the immense privacy implications of real-time facial recognition surveillance. For example, San Francisco is now considering an outright ban on facial recognition surveillance. If pending legislation known as "Stop Secret Surveillance" passes, this would make San Francisco the first city ever to ban (and not just regulate) facial recognition technology.