Plus: OpenAI's parental controls have come into force Generative AI has enabled the production of child sexual abuse images to skyrocket. Now the leading investigator of child exploitation in the US is experimenting with using AI to distinguish AI-generated images from material depicting real victims, according to a new government filing. The Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Crimes Center, which investigates child exploitation across international borders, has awarded a $150,000 contract to San Francisco-based Hive AI for its software, which can identify whether a piece of content was AI-generated. The need to cut emissions and adapt to our warming world is growing more urgent. This year, we've seen temperatures reach record highs, as they have nearly every year for the last decade. Climate-fueled natural disasters are affecting communities around the world, costing billions of dollars.

The UK Court of Appeal has unanimously reached a decision against a face-recognition system used by South Wales Police. The judgment, which called the use of automated face recognition (AFR) "unlawful", could have ramifications for the widespread use of such technology across the UK. But there is disagreement about exactly what the consequences will be. Ed Bridges, who initially launched a case after police cameras digitally analysed his face in the street, had appealed, with the support of personal rights campaign group Liberty, against the use of face recognition by police. The police force claimed in court that the technology was similar to the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in cities.

The use of automatic facial recognition (AFR) technology by South Wales Police is unlawful, the Court of Appeal has ruled. It follows a legal challenge brought by civil rights group Liberty and Ed Bridges, 37, from Cardiff. But the court also found its use was proportionate interference with human rights as the benefits outweighed the impact on Mr Bridges. South Wales Police said it would not be appealing the findings. Mr Bridges had said being identified by AFR caused him distress.

Live facial recognition cameras will be deployed across London, with the city's Metropolitan Police announcing today that the technology has moved past the trial stage and is ready to be permanently integrated into everyday policing. The cameras will be placed in locations popular with shoppers and tourists, like Stratford's Westfield shopping center and the West End, reports BBC News. Each camera will scan for faces contained in "bespoke" watch lists, which the Met says will predominantly contain individuals "wanted for serious and violent offences." When the camera flags an individual, police officers will approach and ask them to verify their identity. If they're on the watch list, they'll be arrested.

January should be a busy month, with many AI companies reporting or getting ready to report full-year 2019 results and providing an early glimpse into 2020. The beginning of a new year -- and more importantly a new decade, one in which global spending on AI is expected to surge by tens of billions of dollars a year -- is thus time to review the portfolio and make some new additions. Where many articles (rightly) focus a lot of attention on artificial intelligence software development, I instead want to take some time to highlight the hardware that makes it all possible. After all, many tech hardware companies were stuck in a rut in 2019 as data center constructors took a breather and the trade war between the U.S. and China took a toll. It appears that slump could be turning a corner in the new year, though.

Avigilon Corporation, a Motorola Solutions company, presents the newest version of its video management software, Avigilon Control Center (ACC) 7.4, which incorporates artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition technology. FEATURES OF AVIGILON CONTROL CENTER (ACC) 7.4 The new "appearance alerts" capability will help commercial organizations, such as educational institutions and hospitals, accelerate response times by identifying people of interest in enterprise settings. For example, the technology can alert the security team at a local high school when a banned or flagged individual has entered the campus. People of interest are identified based on a secure, controlled watch list created and maintained by authorized users at the commercial organization. For organizations that use the new ACC software and license their Avigilon cameras for facial recognition, cameras will seek to identify potential matches based on the watch list.

Last week, the Australian state of New South Wales announced a plan to crack down on drivers using their phones on the road. The state's transport agency said it had integrated machine vision into roadside cameras to spot offenders. The AI automatically flags suspects, humans confirm what's going on, and a warning letter is sent out to the driver. "It's a system to change the culture," the assistant police commissioner of New South Wales, Michael Corboy, told Australian media, noting that police hoped the technology would cut fatalities on the road by a third over two years. It seems an admirable scheme, top to bottom.

Ring, Amazon's crimefighting surveillance camera division, has crafted plans to use facial recognition software and its ever-expanding network of home security cameras to create AI-enabled neighborhood "watch lists," according to internal documents reviewed by The Intercept. The planning materials envision a seamless system whereby a Ring owner would be automatically alerted when an individual deemed "suspicious" was captured in their camera's frame, something described as a "suspicious activity prompt." It's unclear who would have access to these neighborhood watch lists, if implemented, or how exactly they would be compiled, but the documents refer repeatedly to law enforcement, and Ring has forged partnerships with police departments throughout the U.S., raising the possibility that the lists could be used to aid local authorities. The documents indicate that the lists would be available in Ring's Neighbors app, through which Ring camera owners discuss potential porch and garage security threats with others nearby. Ring spokesperson Yassi Shahmiri told The Intercept that "the features described are not in development or in use and Ring does not use facial recognition technology," but would not answer further questions.

Kerala government has requested Artificial Intelligence companies from developing a facial identification and a real-time mass surveillance system to be deployed across the state. Permanent cameras will be deployed at railway stations, bus stands, T-points, road junctions, and other public places if required mobile units can be deployed at a special place to record the venue such as a protest or any trouble spots. These surveillance cameras will be connected to powerful computers, and any person whose data has been entered into the system will be detected in minutes if the person steps in front of any camera installed across the state. The government of Kerala constituted "a strategic think-tank and advisory body" in the name of Kerala Development & Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC). At present this approach is implemented in China where every citizen should have a file opened in his/her name in a mass surveillance called "social credit system".

Police use of automatic facial recognition technology to search for people in crowds is lawful, the high court in Cardiff has ruled. Although the mass surveillance system interferes with the privacy rights of those scanned by security cameras, a judge has concluded, it is not illegal. The legal challenge was brought by Ed Bridges, a former Liberal Democrat councillor from Cardiff, who noticed the cameras when he went out to buy a lunchtime sandwich. He was supported by the human rights organisation Liberty. Bridges said he was distressed by police use of the technology, which he believes captured his image while out shopping and later at a peaceful protest against the arms trade.