Inside the NYPD’s Surveillance Machine is an interactive data visualization revealing the shocking reach of facial recognition technology in New York. The experience allows users to plot a walking route through New York City and discover how much of this route might be exposed to surveillance through facial recognition.
Inside the NYPD’s Surveillance Machine / Amnesty International (INT), Superposition (NL), Photo: Amnesty International, Superposition
Inside the NYPD’s Surveillance Machine / Amnesty International (INT), Superposition (NL), Photo: Amnesty International, Superposition
Inside the NYPD’s Surveillance Machine / Amnesty International (INT), Superposition (NL), Photo: Amnesty International, Superposition
Amnesty International reached out to Superposition to visualize their research findings through an experience that details exposure to invasive FRT technology. Facial recognition technologies (FRT) violate the right to privacy, and threaten the rights to freedom of assembly, equality and non-discrimination. The experience intended to convey the urgency of Amnesty’s disturbing research findings and make these findings relatable to any user, and urge them to take action.
The data is presented to users as it exists in their own environment, without the experience becoming overwhelming. Different report cards allow the user to form an opinion on the topic, after which users are encouraged to send a letter of protest to their council member or sign a global petition. The experience helps spread awareness of the issue and advance Amnesty’s goal of achieving a ban.
Credits
Design & development: Superposition (Bram Bogaerts, Casper Schipper, Robin Smits)
Data & research: Amnesty International
Amnesty International would like to thank the more than 7,000 digital volunteers from around the world who analyzed every intersection in New York City to find and categorize surveillance cameras, gave invaluable feedback and peer-to-peer support. Without them this research would not have been possible.
The project was commissioned and paid for by Amnesty International, an international nongovernmental organization (NGO) that gets the majority of its income from individual donations.
