‘Surveillance in Our Community’: Bend Privacy Alliance invites public to discussion on monitoring tech
(Update: adding video, comments from Bend Privacy Alliance)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A local privacy group is inviting Central Oregonians to learn more about technology used to monitor public spaces, including automated license plate readers, artificial intelligence, and other surveillance systems.
The Bend Privacy Alliance will host a free community discussion, Surveillance in Our Community, Wednesday from 5:00 to 7:00p.m. at the Central Library in Bend.
The event is part of a National Week of Action Against ALPRs, focused on automated license plate readers.
Organizers say the discussion will examine how surveillance technology can track vehicles and potentially reveal information about people’s movements, relationships, and daily routines.
The event will also explore how artificial intelligence can be used to draw inferences from collected data.
Jonathan Westmoreland, an event organizer and member of the Bend Privacy Alliance, said education is a key goal.
“One of the key focuses right now is just to educate people about what systems there are out there, what may be coming, how AI can be used to infer things about citizens and their patterns of life, what things can be done to protect the people at the contract level and at the technical level, and how people that are concerned about this can get involved,” Westmoreland said.
The group also wants residents to consider who can access surveillance data, how long it is retained, where it can be shared, and what safeguards should be in place before new systems are purchased or expanded.
The event is open to everyone, regardless of political perspective or familiarity with the technology. Organizers simply ask you bring an open mind.
The Central Library is located at 61956 SE Santorini St, Bend, OR 97702. If you cannot attend in-person, the event will be live-streamed. Tickets can be purchased online through EventBrite.
Earlier Story -- BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Bend Privacy Alliance is hosting a public community conversation about privacy, technology, and data collection Wednesday, August 19th, in Bend. The meeting will take place at the Central Library.
The event will focus on emerging and widely used technologies, including automated license plate readers, camera networks, facial recognition, and artificial intelligence.
Organizers say the goal of the meeting is to help community members understand what information these monitoring systems collect. Discussions will also examine how gathered data can be stored or shared, along with what safeguards are currently in place.
The event is free and open to the public. It will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Central Library.
