The Ministry of Digital Development expects Russia to have 5 mio surveillance cameras by 2030, with the entire video stream analyzed by artificial intelligence, Kommersant reports citing a presentation by the head of the ministry, Maksut Shadayev.
Currently, there are 1.2 million surveillance cameras installed across Russian cities, with only half of the devices installed at the expense of the state connected to centralized surveillance systems in the regions. Regional authorities do not have access to private cameras. To address this, the ministry proposed creating a nationwide “platform for processing and storing data from surveillance cameras,” which will have access to regional systems.
The video stream will be analyzed using face and image recognition technology. The ministry expects the five-million-camera surveillance system to be in place by 2030, with each camera connected to AI-based processing systems. The officials believe that this will lead to a 30% increase in crimes being solved.
“The architecture of the planned surveillance network may change, but one thing is for certain: the idea has clearly been inspired by the Chinese model of control,” said economist Sergei Khestanov, associate professor at RANEPA. “Let’s see if Russia adopts an analogue of ‘social credit’ next.”
For reference, the Social Credit System in China is a project that should provide a holistic assessment of an individual’s, or a company’s, trustworthiness. This system is currently being developed by the Chinese government.