In a move that has privacy experts concerned, one supermarket giant is expanding its use of cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) in its self-service checkouts.
Woolworths is installing cameras in its self-service checkouts across 110 stores in NSW, Queensland and Victoria to catch what it says are “accidental wrong scans”. AI will examine the footage and then play it back to the customer with instructions on how to scan the item correctly.
Woolworths told The Guardian the main purpose is to prevent incorrect scans but conceded it will also work help to stop people deliberately scanning expensive items as less pricey ones.
It’s that presumption of guilt that has digital rights advocates worried.
Samantha Floreani, a program lead for Digital Rights Watch, said the technology could make many shoppers feel as if they are constantly being watched and recorded.
“This kind of normalisation of surveillance makes space for the growing use of invasive technologies in everyday life …” she said.
“These technologies are framed as an improvement for customers, but in reality, it is punitive use of automation technology to cut costs on staffing for large corporations while treating every customer as a suspect.”
How will it work?
A camera will be positioned overhead, angled to capture everything you do at the self-service checkout.
If the AI detects any discrepancies between what has been scanned and what has been placed in your trolley, it will play back the footage of you scanning the item and give you an opportunity to re-scan.
Woolworths says the footage cannot be viewed live, but may be stored for future training purposes. The cameras are not intended to capture faces, but if your face is inadvertently seen it will be blurred by the software before being viewed by a human.
Woolworths says the system also blurs out PIN pads so personal banking details can’t be obtained.
Is this needed?
It’s understandable that Woolworths is looking to prevent theft in its stores, but the recent high-profile Optus and Medibank data breaches show that even with the best intentions, collecting this kind of information can be a honeypot for cybercriminals.
Associate Professor Rob Nicholls, from the University of NSW’s business school, told The New Daily he did not think the overhead cameras would actually achieve their purpose and that a better option would be a camera pointed at the produce being scanned. This would also reduce the potential for other sensitive data to be collected.
“You need a camera, or potentially need a camera, when the customer is weighing goods and then saying what they are,” he said.
“This way, people would be deterred from saying, for example, their avocados are potatoes to get them at a cheaper cost.
“If you’re gonna [sic] put a camera up there in order to detect fraud, if you take a privacy by design approach, you’re actually not interested in the person, all you’re interested in is the [item],” he said.
Is this is a step too far? Or a fair way to detect people who are being less than honest? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Also read: Law proposed to regulate facial recognition technology