NYC wants AI subway cameras to predict ‘trouble’ before it happens

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it’s exploring the use of AI systems for “predictive prevention” of crime and dangerous behavior on the city’s subway platforms.

MTA chief security officer Michael Kemper said that the agency is “studying and piloting technology like AI to sense potential trouble or problematic behavior on our subway platforms.”

“If someone is acting out, irrational… it could potentially trigger an alert that would trigger a response from either security and/or the police department,” he explained during an MTA safety committee meeting Monday, emphasizing that the police response could come “before waiting for something to happen.”

“AI is the future,” he added, noting that the MTA is “working with tech companies literally right now” to investigate “what would work in the subway system.” Kemper didn’t detail which companies the MTA is working with, how AI will be implemented, or exactly what sort of behaviour the AI-enabled cameras will be expected to detect.

However, MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan confirmed to The Gothamist that the new system won’t rely on facial recognition. “The technology being explored by the MTA is designed to identify behaviors, not people,” Donovan said.

This isn’t the first time the MTA has implemented AI. In 2023 it disclosed that it was using AI-powered surveillance software to track fare evaders on the subway, monitoring when, where, and how most fare evasion takes place.