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How many times does London film you a day?

Luke O’Sullivan

24,047 views

There are new cameras in town. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code OSULLIVAN at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/osullivan. Watch more from my channel: Ones you should watch

Hi, my name's Luke. I make videos about things I think are pretty mad. That's usually cities, transport, and infrastructure -- but not always.

The following parts of the video are either under-reported or potentially unbelievable so here are some sources for further information:
More info on the photo database: https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/press-...
More info on DVLA photos being added to the database: https://www.biometricupdate.com/20260...
More info on the homicide prediction tool: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...
Not a whole lot of information available on the Offender Assessment System, but here's a source that has a good overview: https://bristoluniversitypressdigital...
https://www.rma.scot/wp-content/uploa...

Also, while I'm posting this I'm seeing that the train station trials haven't gone well: https://www.theguardian.com/technolog...
Croydon trial info here: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd...

I used Artlist for some sound effects in this video, follow this link to use them yourself: https://artlist.io/artlist-70446/?art...

This video is sponsored by Incogni.

20 Comments

@osullivanluke Creator 1 day ago Pinned

First MI6 and now this. I'll stop being a menace now 😅 Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code OSULLIVAN at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/osullivan

@lfo2vco 1 day ago

All very fine until the benchmark for what is a serious crime is reduced... such as holding a placard during a peaceful protest is now considered an act of terrorism!

@frankhall401 1 day ago

I've worked in the CCTV industry for decades. CCTV is much less organised than people think. Publicly owned CCTV is usually years old, low resolution and uses proprietary formats that require laborious conversion before they can be used. The cameras in the local corner shop are almost certainly newer and better quality than those at most major public infrastructure but the system probably won't be connected to a network. If the police want to get the footage they'll have to physically visit the shop and copy it onto a USB stick. Systems also typically keep recordings for a couple of weeks or less. You also underestimate how much effort it takes to collect, view, collate and compile CCTV. The police will have the money to track a murderer across town but for lower level crime they just won't have the people, the budget or the time. AI could be a game changer in the future but we're a LONG way from Person of Interest.

@where_is_mark 13 hours ago

Fun Fact! Most of those 77,000 TFL CCTV cameras don't record.
Yes they are live and an operator can use the camera to see what's going on in real time such as to see why there is congestion at a junction or see how busy a platform is but they don't actually save any footage to be viewed at a later time
When you think about it, you realise just how much storage you would need to do something like that
But also, you can view the feeds from those TFL cameras yourself, in real time totally legally via the TFL website. In the same way you can view all those cameras around the country on motorways etc (and yes they aren't recorded also)
A lot of the conspiracy theorists seem to over estimate the technology that is in use in many of these scenarios and forget that the contract to deliver was awarded to the cheapest bidder :)

@acasccseea4434 1 day ago (edited)

the keystone of a dystopian system, is police/enforcers that blindly trusts the system.
There has been multiple lawsuits against American police arresting people because the system told them to do so. Even if it takes half a second to realize that it's impossible, or the system flagged the wrong person.

surveillance state doesn't work without secret police.

so what we need, even more importantly. is competent people working as police.
so, do you trust your police?

@soviut303 1 day ago

It's rich how this is touted as crime prevention when it's really just a more efficient punishment system. It's because you can't sell an automated solution to poverty and mental illness.

@treinenliefde 1 day ago

Ironic to see an advertisement from a company like Incogni on a video about privacy.

@danielm.1441 1 day ago (edited)

Cops tracking their ex girlfriends whilst bad, is far from the worst thing surveillance could be misused for - in the hands of an authoritarian government it could be utterly devastating for out groups (migrants, LGBTQ+, political dissidents, investigative journalists etc).

@NailahRoberts 17 hours ago

I thought it was recognition not registration

@mirage1729 1 day ago

Anyone who doesn't find this very concerning should have their head checked.

@robblake8999 1 day ago

The question is who you're a threat to. You may have nothing to hide now, but when the government changes to that awful one you really don't want to get in - you're toast. This is too much concentration of power.

@Thomashorsman 6 hours ago

ANPR stands for Automatic Number Plate Recognition

@rubberduck3y6 1 day ago

I already thought that London is one of the most watched cities in the world. It's well known that the UK has one of the highest amount of CCTV cameras per capita and successive UK governments for decades have worked to expand mass surveillance so they know everything about us. AI has allowed that surveillance to explode as previously there was too much footage generated to be physically watched but an algorithm can now do that. That's why we're now getting widespread use of facial recognition cameras, ID-gating to do pretty much anything online (including watching and making YT videos), AI live scanning of your phone screen, Digital ID and no doubt other spying tech that's not been publicly announced.

@akaycia_04 1 day ago

Oh wow I love person of interest. nice to see someone else talking about it

@PrathamInCloud 10 hours ago

See now that's a sponsor ad that I would not skip through because it's so relevant

@lordkell1986 18 hours ago

Key point about Flock:
They are a Private company, nothing to do with Government unless they have a contract with Flock. So the private company still has your tracking data even if there is no Governmental call for it.
Oh, and they don't remove their cameras even when their contracts are cancelled.

Something something data broker Incogni?

@volatusII 3 hours ago

Poi mentioned!!

@YMIMAA337 18 hours ago

I actually experienced this myself. There was a camera on a building that I didn’t even realize was rotating until I walked past it and heard the robotic noise as it followed my movement. It was especially unsettling at night, when everything is so quiet. I felt completely invaded and honestly extremely disgusted by the experience.

@brendanosullivan3760 1 day ago

Great video and good to remember a person of interest was one of my favourite shows. Amazing the technology we have and how it’s expanded so much in the last few years. Thanks Luke