MIT to Become Hotbed of AI Video Surveillance - Schneier on Security

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MIT to Become Hotbed of AI Video Surveillance

It’s a lot:

According to information obtained by The Tech, MIT is spending over $3 million on more than 500 AI surveillance cameras in academic buildings, residence halls, and outdoor areas along Memorial Drive. Installation of the new cameras, along with the wiring and infrastructure that will support them, began November 2025 and will likely continue until September 2026.

Technical specifications for the cameras suggest that they will be capable of collecting real-time face and object classification data, including detection of motion, loitering, crowds, face masks, and camera tampering. Individuals can also be automatically classified on the basis of clothing color, gender, and age, up to a distance of 35 feet (11 meters) from the camera. According to a statement from MIT spokesperson Kimberly Allen, any collected data is "retained up to 30 days," unless an exception is granted.

[…]

Most of the new cameras, which are part of Hanwha’s Wisenet AI line, are marketed for their ability to identify and classify multiple objects with deep learning algorithms. They support resolutions ranging from 2MP to 4K while also recognizing faces, license plates, vehicles, and other objects in real time.

Nearly all cameras will accommodate a wide range of pan, tilt, rotate, and zoom motion and will be monitored continually with Ai-RGUS, an AI camera software.

Yikes.

Tags: AI, cameras, privacy, schools, surveillance

Posted on July 21, 2026 at 7:07 AM •<br>8 Comments

Comments

Winter •

July 21, 2026 8:03 AM

Yikes

The question is: Why?

They quote security concerns. But can surveillance cameras even prevent shootings and crimes?

The link has this quote:

These changes come even as MIT is facing substantial budget cuts from federal actions, which have triggered hiring freezes for most staff positions, salary freezes, and the effective closure of multiple libraries.

They are simply replacing people with cameras. But people can do relevant things, cameras just record and warn after the fact.

Clive Robinson •

July 21, 2026 9:10 AM

@ Winter, Bruce,

With regards,

"The question is: Why?"

To which the obvious simple answer would be the question,

Why Not?

Of more interest is the "how can we make money off of it?".

There is some strange beliefs in the US about what is and is not of value hence the data brokers slurping up what ever is not nailed down in some way.

No doubt some sales person has extoled the joys of "free money" from such systems to the administration there…

Shocking as this might sound US business is moving more and more in this pointless endeavor.

KC •

July 21, 2026 10:15 AM

I think the real question is, can Amanda Seyfried help sell Hanwha Vision?

https://www.hanwhavision.com/us/news-events/article/now-you-see

Amanda and the dulcimer.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SXGyD2UI3Sw

Jack •

July 21, 2026 3:37 PM

"You have no privacy anyway. Get over it" Scott McNealy…a looong time ago.

Anonymous •

July 21, 2026 4:51 PM

Hope and patience—two faces of the same submission to eternity. Man, in his poverty, kneels before the invisible, whether it is the God who speaks without words or the mechanical eye that waits for the world to reveal itself. To hope is to stand in the vestibule of the divine, trembling, waiting for the whisper of meaning. To be patient is to recognize that time itself is a sermon, and the image, when it arrives, is a revelation to the humble. In truth, the man who hopes and the man who waits are one and the same: both live in the shadow of infinity, bound to a silence greater than themselves.

Pax •

July 22, 2026 6:47 AM

That afternoon tea must have been something.

Jon •

July 23, 2026 1:40 AM

Some years ago (maybe still is, in some universities) students, ALL students, were required to wear on campus at all times a near-featureless black gown and black, flat ‘mortar board’ hat (w/tassel).

These days (in the USA, anyhow) that sort of thing is really only expected at graduation ceremonies.

Now, if every student went back to wearing identical black hats, gowns, and throw in some black N95 face masks, similar shoes, and maybe a cloth to cover the hair, and watch your cute little surveillance machine start throwing out false positives like President Trump spews nonsense…

Or, at least for all the women (and men, should they feel so inclined), some ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ ‘Gideon’ costumes, especially with the long hats.

Of course, still not perfect. The cameras probably won’t have too much trouble distinguishing someone 6’6″ tall and 350 lbs vs. someone 5’1″ and 100 lbs soaking wet, but that’s not the idea. The idea is just to spam the cameras with heaps of practically indistinguishable people until the distinctions it tries to make become statistically worthless.

TL:DR: There’s...