Abstract
This paper examines how autocratic regimes use surveillance technologies. Are they effective in improving the public good by reducing crime and increasing crime clearance rates? The study focuses on the “Moscow AI Experiment,” which involved the simultaneous implementation of facial recognition (FR) on all 200,000 city surveillance cameras in 2020. Analyzing crime data from 2018 to 2021 we find that the introduction of different types of CCTV has had sporadic and modest effects over the years, raising questions about the effectiveness of Russia's substantial investment in this technology. However, interpreting these results requires a broader perspective. The peculiarities of Russia's bureaucratic reporting system within law enforcement agencies may discourage officers from significantly improving crime clearance rates. Regularities in the data also raises doubts about their authenticity and underscore the need for multiple interpretations. While official narratives tout the success of FR technology, its effectiveness appears to be rooted in helping autocratic regimes control opposition rather than improving public safety. The ongoing proliferation of such systems across Russia suggests their perceived success by the authorities. This study suggests that the role of FR technology in autocracies goes beyond traditional crime control, potentially affecting civil liberties.
Authors
- Sergey Ross (Collective Action Think Tank)
- Dmitrii Serebrennikov (Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute)
- Eleonora Minaeva (European University Institute)
- Vladislav Netyaev (Researcher, Transparency International)
Keywords
- surveillance
- CCTV cameras
- face recognition
- authoritarian regimes
- police effectiveness
