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Garbage trucks could soon do more than collect trash—they may also help identify code violations using artificial intelligence (AI).
Officials in Cape Coral, Florida, recently considered equipping sanitation trucks with AI-powered cameras that would photograph properties as crews complete their normal collection routes.
The system would have been designed to identify potential issues such as overgrown lawns, peeling paint, and illegal dumping, and to flag violations so the city staff can review them later before taking enforcement action.
Privacy advocates, however, have long warned that expanding camera networks can raise new concerns about how collected data is stored, shared, and potentially repurposed.
However, in a statement on July 13, Cape Coral officials said it would not be moving forward with the camera technology, citing cost issues and insufficient benefits.
“Claims suggesting that this technology would automatically identify, cite or fine residents are inaccurate,” the statement also noted.
Florida and California
Cape Coral is not the first city to explore the technology.
AI imaging systems developed by City Detect have already been deployed in several municipalities.
According to the company’s published case studies, Stockton, California, used the platform to analyze nearly 40,000 parcels, capturing almost 200,000 images while identifying thousands of potential code issues.
Cathedral City, California, has also used the technology to assist code enforcement, while Dallas approved funding for a similar program pending final implementation.
‘Get the Flock Out’
Other AI-powered surveillance technologies have become increasingly common across the United States.
License plate reader company Flock Safety, for example, operates tens of thousands of cameras nationwide that can identify not only license plates but also vehicle characteristics such as make, model and distinguishing features.
Civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have raised concerns about how Flock systems may be used and how widely collected data is shared.
The ACLU started an initiative called “Get the Flock Out,” calling the cameras “creepy.”
“They all have the same problems: a lack of transparency, oversight, and regulation into how they collect, store, and use our data, and how to hold public and private actors accountable if they abuse it,” the organization wrote.
Vehicle Privacy
Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized an order prohibiting General Motors and OnStar from sharing certain connected vehicle data with consumer reporting agencies for five years.
Regulators alleged the company collected and disclosed drivers’ location and behavior information without obtaining adequate consent.
The action marked the FTC’s first enforcement case involving connected vehicle privacy.
Cape Coral officials say that a camera system in the future would assist—not replace—human code enforcement officers, and employees will review any AI-generated alerts before violations are issued.
“Even if such a system were to be considered in the future, any potential code violations would require review and verification by a Code Compliance Officer before any enforcement action could be taken,” the organization wrote.
‘So dangerous’
Still, the ACLU has noted more than a dozen instances of police making wrongful arrests due to AI misidentifying people.
“Part of what is so dangerous about these systems is that when they get it wrong, innocent people who look similar to a suspect are often flagged,” the organization wrote.
“That is exactly what facial recognition is designed to do—find similar faces in a database, most or all of whom aren’t actually a match.”
Newsweek has reached out to Cape Coral officials as well as the ACLU for comment via email.
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