Argentina’s security forces have announced plans to use artificial intelligence to “predict future crimes”, a move that experts have warned could threaten citizens’ rights.
The country’s far-right president, Javier Milei, created this week the Artificial intelligence applied to security The unit, which according to the legislation will use “machine learning algorithms to analyze historical crime data and predict future crimes,” will also deploy facial recognition software to identify “wanted persons,” patrol social media and analyze security camera footage in real time to detect suspicious activity.
While the Ministry of Security has said the new unit will help “detect potential threats, identify movements of criminal groups or anticipate unrest,” the Minority Report-style resolution has set off alarm bells among Human rights organizations.
Experts fear that certain groups in society could be subject to excessive scrutiny by the technology, and have also expressed concerns about who (and how many law enforcement agencies) will be able to access the information.
Amnesty International warned that this measure could violate human rights. “Large-scale surveillance affects freedom of expression because it encourages people to self-censor or refrain from sharing their ideas or criticisms if they suspect that everything they comment, post or publish is being monitored by security forces,” said Mariela Belski, executive director of Amnesty International Argentina.
Meanwhile, the Argentine Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information noted that Technologies have historically been has been used to “profile academics, journalists, politicians and activists,” which, if left unchecked, threatens privacy.
Milei, a far-right libertarian, came to power late last year and has promised a hardline response to combat crime. His security minister, Patricia Bullrich, is reported to have seeks to replicate The controversial penitentiary model of El Salvador, while the government moves towards the militarization of security policy, according to the Center for Legal and Social StudiesThe government has also cracked down on protests: riot police recently fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators at point-blank range, and officials threatened to fine parents who bring their children to marches.
The latest move has sparked a particularly strong reaction in a country with a dark history of state repression: an estimated 30,000 people were forcibly disappeared during the brutal 1976-83 dictatorship, some of them thrown alive from planes on so-called “death flights.” Thousands were also tortured and hundreds of children abducted.
A source at the Ministry of Security said the new unit will work under the current legislative framework, including the mandate of the Personal Information Protection Act. He added that it will focus on applying artificial intelligence, data analytics and machine learning to identify criminal patterns and trends in the Ministry of Security’s databases.