The Pre-Crime Lie is the Dark Side of the Surveillance Age!

The Dark Side of the Surveillance Age: The Pre-Crime Lie is Being Deciphered!

 

Our future is being woven with invisible networks; if every step, word, and tendency of ours is recorded by technology, the digital surveillance network could serve a much darker purpose. The new order called "pre-crime," while claiming to predict crimes not yet committed, actually targets our freedoms and human dignity.

 

Digital Chains: The Betrayal of Technology and the Shadow of GIDEON

While technology is seen as a liberating force, it is turning into a tool that shackles us with digital chains. Tools like closed-circuit cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles, smart city systems, and social media analyses collect massive amounts of data. Data processed by artificial intelligence algorithms creates profiles of "risky individuals" or "potential criminals." However, algorithms, with their "black box" structures, lack transparency; how their decisions are made is unknown. Erroneous evaluations can lead to innocent people being unfairly stigmatized. Have you ever thought about how your life could be turned upside down if the algorithm labels you as "risky"?

Predictive Policing software, data analysis giants like Palantir, and crime prediction tools like PredPol are concrete examples of these systems. However, what is truly striking is the expansion of the "threat" detection system's scope with the integration of artificial intelligence into a system called GIDEON, promoted with the slogan "a system that stops the next pandemic outbreak before it starts." The development of the system for "law" enforcement appears as a dangerous manifestation of mass surveillance and the "pre-crime" logic.

 

The Bending of Law: Violation of Presumption of Innocence and Legal Loopholes

While the presumption of innocence, the cornerstone of legal systems, and "pre-crime" applications prohibit arbitrary detention and forced confinement under international human rights conventions, the fundamental principles of law can be bent and twisted by regulations linked to AI-based surveillance systems. Loopholes in countries' legislation allow technology companies and states to operate freely in gray areas. The acceptance of algorithmic decisions of artificial intelligence as legal evidence and the inadequacy of appeal mechanisms against these decisions can leave individuals defenseless, causing the law to become a tool of the new surveillance regime instead of protecting us.

In Turkey, gaps in regulations like the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) that cover algorithmic decision-making processes can pave the way for these applications. The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation also leaves the definition of "crime risk" vague, increasing legal uncertainty in this area.

 

Social Control: Social Credit Systems in the Shadow of Fear and Obedience

Furthermore, the security discourse associated with "pre-crime" applications, fueled by populist connotations such as the threat of terrorism or concerns about organized crime, aims to keep the public in fear and obedience, while also fostering marginalization. Algorithms deepen existing inequalities by labeling certain socio-economic or ethnic groups as "risky." Crowd psychology and normative pressure suppress individuals' free thoughts, causing them to participate in populist rhetoric like "we cannot compromise on national security." Because if an individual once labeled as "risky" finds it almost impossible to get rid of these labels, society fears that freedom will be curtailed by being kept under constant suspicion and surveillance.

 

Global Threat: Examples of Applications from Around the World

The dangerous trend we mentioned is being applied in different forms. In the US, Predictive Policing software determines the routes of street patrols, while in China, the Social Credit System scores every step of citizens. In the UK, Live Facial Recognition systems are used for suspect detection. In India, the Aadhaar identity database makes "potential radical" identifications through biometric collection and movement analysis. In the European Union, Frontex develops data-centric risk classifications in migration control.

All examples show that the concept of "pre-crime" is not just a science fiction scenario, but a rapidly spreading reality on a global scale. Each country shapes its control mechanisms according to its own political motivations and technological infrastructure.

 

Turkey's Path: Digitalization and Increasing Risks

Turkey is not exempt from global trends. AI-powered security systems, license plate recognition, and facial recognition technologies are already being used by various institutions. E-government, e-nabız, etc., integrations and central data pools facilitate the digital profiling of individuals. However, the digitalization process brings with it the risk of "pre-crime" applications being implemented in Turkey as well.

In conclusion; gaps in personal data protection and the oversight of algorithmic decision-making processes of artificial intelligence pave the way for the widespread adoption of these applications in legal gray areas. Social polarization and security discourse increase the potential for digital surveillance tools to be used to target potential dissidents. If not objected to now, dangers such as "risky individual" analysis, preventive detentions, privacy violations, and restrictions on freedom of expression in many areas, from education to finance, social media to public policies, may be waiting at our doorstep.

 

Source: Global Disclosure