San Jose Experiments with AI to Detect Homeless Encampments
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San Jose is training AI to recognize tents and vehicles with people living inside to detect homeless encampments, believed to be the first such experiment in the US.
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Cameras mounted on a city vehicle drive through areas where homeless congregate, collecting images to train algorithms to identify "unwanted objects" like RVs.
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Goal is to use the AI detection to direct outreach workers to encampments before they grow large, but it could also further efforts to clear tent settlements.
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Participating companies like Ash Sensors are training systems to detect proxy signs of habitation like covered windows and trash outside vehicles.
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As a tech leader, San Jose's adoption of encampment surveillance could influence whether other cities pursue similar systems.