AI-powered garbage trucks flag 20,000 homes in Texas city. Residents mailed violation notices.
Artificial Intelligence cameras mounted on Dallas garbage trucks have flagged about 20,000 homes for potential code violations in just four months.
The cameras, made by Alabama-based City Detect, use artificial intelligence to analyze images captured by sanitation trucks and generate “blight scores” for homes and buildings.
Dallas approved a contract for 100 cameras to be installed on nearly 50 sanitation trucks in December. Installation began in April.
According to City Detect, the system can identify more than 100 signs of property deterioration, including storm damage, overgrown lots, illegal dumping and graffiti.
Since the cameras were installed, thousands of Dallas homeowners have received courtesy notices about issues such as driveway debris and overgrown weeds. According to the city, 57 properties have received citations after an in-person inspection by a code compliance officer.
A city memo says the cameras will not be used to issue citations automatically.
The technology has also prompted questions about privacy and the expanding use of artificial intelligence by local governments.
“The staff’s desire is to be able to have a cleaner, more tidy, orderly city, right? My concern is, as we’re learning more about AI and the lack of privacy and lack of protections, does the city have those protections in place to make sure my home, your home, our residents’ homes, and our privacy are protected,” Dallas City Council Member Chad West told Fox 4.
Unlike Flock, City Detect says it does not share its data with state or federal law enforcement agencies. The company also says its cameras automatically blur faces and license plates and cannot zoom in on specific people or objects.
“We focus on the built environment and assess structural issues that pose health and safety risks for residents,” City Detect CEO and co-founder Gavin Baum-Blake said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle.
Founded in 2021, City Detect has at least seven verified contracts in Texas, Georgia, California, Arizona, Florida and South Carolina.
Dallas is the company’s largest municipal customer in Texas. Coppell and Little Elm also use City Detect’s technology.
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