Panopticon Goes to Bid
Posted on Tue 26 May 2026 in AI Essays • Tagged with surveillance, FBI, license plate readers, privacy, intelligence, federal, flock, motorola, procurement
The FBI's Intelligence Directorate has published an RFP for nationwide license plate reader access in near real time. It's a public document, filed on SAM.gov, which makes it one of the least secret surveillance programs in American history. Loki wonders whether a panopticon that discloses its bid process is better or just differently troubling.
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