Greg Casar Warns AI Could Enable Mass Surveillance

Representative Greg Casar (D) is calling for stronger restrictions on AI-powered mass surveillance, warning that commercially available tools could enable tracking of people's movements.

In a video, Rep. Casar pointed to Flock cameras and increasingly sophisticated AI tools as examples of technology that could allow governments or even private individuals to monitor where people go and who they interact with.

Casar warned about "the way that they can use Flock cameras all over the country right now, to know exactly where you are, exactly where you're headed."

Casar then described a presentation he recently gave demonstrating how a relatively inexpensive AI subscription could allegedly be used to track employees at sensitive locations, including gun stores or abortion clinics, and identify their movements and schedules.

"You could literally ask AI, with a pretty cheap subscription, to track employees of a gun store, or an abortion clinic, and tell you where they drove from, what time they got to work," said Casar. "What customers came in and came out."

That possibility, he argued, raises an even larger question about what federal agencies could accomplish with access to similar technology.

"Imagine what the FBI could do. Imagine what ICE can do," said Casar.

His warnings come as Flock cameras face mounting scrutiny nationwide. The systems use AI-powered license plate recognition to collect vehicle information, while law enforcement agencies can share and search data across jurisdictions. Recent reports have documented instances of misuse, fueling calls for tighter safeguards.

For Casar, the issue is increasingly about establishing rules before surveillance technology becomes too powerful to control.