Page 26 - Security Today, January/February 2020

Going My Way Expectations for AI go far beyond what you might think
By Thomas Cook
Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to be a hot topic in the security industry. While true AI (a computer’s ability to think and act like a hu- man) is still decades away, subsets of AI such as deep learning and machine learning have enabled computers to make significant strides, enabling machines to ex- amine large amounts of data to provide deeper insights. So, while we do not find ourselves in the realm of true artificial intelligence, using the term AI to describe any aspect of it, seems here to stay.
As more “AI-based” cameras come to market, it is interest- ing to hear how end users think about deploying the technology. Recently, I participated in an end-user conference attended by a diverse group of Fortune 500 organizations along with govern- ment and transportation groups.
We asked them what they wanted from AI-based cameras in the future and the expectations expressed were far beyond what you might expect. The promise of AI has infiltrated almost every corner of our business and personal lives. The prevailing wisdom is that AI has the potential to do anything, so in addition to advanc- ing their security capabilities, customers are looking to AI for help in solving their operations and business challenges as well.
Further Expectations
This trend is bolstered by consumer products and services that continue to push the envelope too, setting further expectations for AI for products we use in our day-to-day lives. For example,
if you buy a new car today, there are sensors everywhere which can inform you if an obstacle is approaching as you reverse, slow you down automatically when you come up behind another car or subtly push you back in the lane when you drift out.
Autonomous vehicles have put AI front and center as they use this technology to enable cars to drive themselves. These ideas of computer assistance are becoming a common expression of AI across all of our devices.
It is a challenging part of the future, whether we like it or not, and security systems will no doubt be following the same path. It is easy to imagine smart systems making decisions with little to no human intervention—automating reports and sending them to police stations, end users, directors and IT departments with- out anyone having to directly interact with it.
Because AI is marketed everywhere, it is not surprising that end users expect much more than what the industry currently offers them. While discussing the fact that AI-based cameras can recog- nize the color of a person’s shirt and pants, one of our customers said, “Yes, that’s useful, however, we would like to be able to detect our company logo on shirts. When an employee enters a camera’s field of view, we want to know if they are wearing the appropriate company attire and are therefore compliant with standards.”
Even before customers receive their first AI-based cameras, they are evolving their expectations of the technology to fit their needs. Another example came from a food processing customer that wanted their cameras to read labels on packages of meat to
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