Stop Government Garbage Snooping
Big Brother isn’t just watching from the shadows - he’s now peeping through your trash!
The City of Lethbridge has launched a new pilot project to catch items that shouldn’t be in the blue bins, like batteries or tires.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) cameras have been added to one recycling and one organics collection truck.
If the cameras see something in your bin that shouldn’t be there, you'll receive a postcard highlighting your mistakes and reminding you about proper disposal.
According to the City, there’s no penalty or extra charge for mistakes - just a friendly postcard featuring an anthropomorphized blue bin reminding you that you’ve been bad.
But how long before the City reviews the data and realizes they can profit from this?
Our guess: not long.
Eventually, the City plans to introduce verbal warnings, visits from staff, and even the loss of your recycling cart privileges.
Sounds like we’re just a couple of misplaced banana peels away from a fine.
More concerning though, is the invasive nature of this project.
Think about everything you throw out in a week.
Garbage can reveal a lot about what goes on in your home - medical conditions from discarded pill bottles, financial status from bank statements, or personal beliefs from political flyers.
Trash cans are actually a pretty detailed record of our consumption and behaviour.
The idea that all of this could be monitored and recorded by AI technology is unsettling.
Plenty of jurisdictions are experimenting with this trash-observing tech.
In Wisconsin, some City governments are even using garbage trucks equipped with video cameras.
The American Civil Liberties Union recently warned that "automated garbage monitoring raises very serious privacy concerns" and that government surveillance through trash crosses a line.
But, according to the City, you don’t need to worry about privacy.
They claim the system blurs out license plates and people before anyone sees them.
However, this assurance isn’t really putting anyone at ease.
No matter what protections are supposedly in place, the potential for misuse and the sheer invasiveness of having AI technology scrutinize our waste is a bridge too far.
To be clear, we're not inherently opposed to Artificial Intelligence
But, we all know what happens when you give the government an inch…
Even if the technology blurs out certain details, there’s no guarantee that the government have implemented this in a secure way that guarantees sensitive information won’t be exposed or misused.
And, even if they weren't using AI, we'd be opposed to them using regular cameras or humans to snoop around in your garbage, too!
The potential for government overreach here is significant, and once this kind of surveillance becomes normalized, it sets a dangerous precedent for even more intrusive measures in the future.
We need to ensure this pilot project ends up in the trash.
If you agree, sign the petition to stop this invasive project and tell City Hall to Stop Government Garbage Snooping.
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