Ram Temple Security: The Uttar Pradesh government is pouring crores of dollars into high-level security measures to keep the city peace and order as Ayodhya prepares for the Pran Pratishtha event at the Ram temple on January 22. AI surveillance systems will be employed for the first time in the city, which is a flurry of activity due to the Ram temple event, to spot suspicious activity and find criminals.

Atul Rai, co-founder and CEO of Staqu Technologies, the business implementing Ayodhya’s AI-powered security system, stated in an interview with Mint that “people with serious criminal records, including terrorism, murder, etc., will be subject to a high level of AI surveillance in Ayodhya.” The CCTV cameras that are already placed across the city for functions like traffic and community control have been combined for effective artificial intelligence-based city surveillance.”

The city’s highlights, including Kanak Bhawan, Hanuman Garhi, Shri Nageshwar Nath Mandir, Ram Ki Paidi, and Ram Janmabhoomi, will be covered by CCTV cameras.

The Indian tech startup is enabling the use of AI to identify suspicious individuals and activities by utilizing Jarvis, its audio and video analytics software. Based on generic inputs, the AI software will recognize objects and individuals using facial recognition and reverse facial recognition.

With the use of a photo and reverse face recognition technology, law enforcement may look for a certain individual throughout the city. The software would also allow people to search for a person or an object based on attributes entered in text form,” Rai said.

Prashant Kumar, the director general of Law and Order, announced the beginning of an artificial intelligence pilot project to increase security in Ayodhya. He clarified that the AI-based CCTV monitoring system will assist in identifying regular attendees, any patterns that a group of persons may follow when visiting the temple grounds, etc.

These AI-integrated cameras will have access to a database of 800,000 persons with criminal histories thanks to Staqu’s Trinetra software, which has allowed UP police to digitize criminal records.

N. S. Nappinai, founder of Cyber Saathi and lawyer for the Supreme Court, commented on the monitoring through AI-based CCTV. He stated, “Even concerning the use of the CCTV camera, globally multiple jurisdictions have clear laws for protecting privacy while using CCTV cameras in public spaces.” There is a gap in Indian law that needs to be filled right away.”

“The next level of monitoring comes when you mix AI with the deployment of CCTV cameras. If security is your goal, then you should have strong checks and balances to ensure that privacy is protected, according to Nappinai.

Additionally, she emphasized that “the first step ought to be to put down certain guidelines, advisory or ideally laws of regulation to make sure that the technology is not going to be abused” before using such technology for governance reasons.

Nappinai emphasized the need for transparency in data collection and access by a private entity in such projects, saying, “Transparency on the extent of data collected, access is given to the private entity or usage thereof is crucial when it comes to the use of technology or public-private partnership for the same.” Private entities’ involvement may have an impact on people’s rights to data privacy if these issues are not addressed.”

Currently, the Gurgaon-based start-up Staqu is implementing the pilot project in Ayodhya as part of the extension of its relationship with UP Special Task Force (STF).

The 10,000–20,000 CCTV cameras that are currently in place around the city were used for the test project. These included cameras within the temple, Ram Janmabhoomi, and other locations. Integrating Jarvis for AI monitoring was made simpler by the widespread availability of CCTV cameras.

However, the city’s numerous building sites presented the business with several difficulties. “Ayodhya is in the spirit of inauguration; numerous government departments have undertaken a great deal of work locally.” The project presented operational obstacles, but we overcame them all with the assistance of the government and the police, stated Rai.

SOURCE: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/in-temple-town-ayodhya-artificial-intelligence-is-keeping-an-eye-on-security-11705342666520.html