Halton police are introducing AI to help hire and train 911 call takers. What are the risks? LCO’s Ryan Fritsch (@upsideofdown.bsky.social) spoke to CBC News about the need for legislation as police adopt AI technologies. Read the story: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Halton police are turning to AI to help hire, train 911 call takers | CBC News

The police service says it is using American AI firm GOVWORKX's technology to help reduce the times for evaluating candidates by 50 per cent and make hiring “more data driven."

cbc.ca

Hanging out at my sister @kellyfritsch.bsky.social book launch at UToronto. Always a super cool and proud moment! Check out the book Broken Worlds, Disabled Kin from @uminnpress.bsky.social : www.upress.umn.edu/978151791973...

The Atlantic Provinces Criminal Judges Group invited the LCO to develop and deliver a full-day training on AI in criminal justice this week in Halifax. LCO's @upsideofdown.bsky.social will lead the program for about 65 judges from across Atlantic Canada, joined by Ontario Justices Lauwers and Kenkel

A new joint UBC/LCO report by @profbenperrin.bsky.social, Nye Thomas and @upsideofdown.bsky.social proposes 10 consensus-based principles for police AI. The principles will inform the LCO’s final report on AI in the criminal justice system, coming in October. Read more: canlii.ca/t/7nvmp

AI facial recognition tools are being used by more police forces in Ontario. But is oversight up to par? Read LCO Counsel Ryan Fritsch’s (@upsideofdown.bsky.social) thoughts in this Ottawa Citizen article: ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa-...

Ottawa police moving forward with first phase of AI facial recognition

On June 24, the Ottawa Police Service announced it would be extending the pilot of their body-worn camera program through AI tools.

ottawacitizen.com

The Queensland Law Reform Commission's Evidence Act Review is exploring AI in civil and criminal justice. This evening the LCO meets virtually with the Commission to discuss the cutting edge law reform approaches we’re promoting in Ontario.

NEW REPORT: “Uncovering Webloc: An Analysis of Penlink’s Ad-based Geolocation Surveillance Tech” Our research confirms that ad-based surveillance tech Webloc is used by military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies across the globe. citizenlab.ca/research/ana...

Today @upsideofdown.bsky.social is co-chairing Justice Rewired: AI at the Frontlines of Crime and Criminal Justice with Osgoode PD. The online conference explores how AI is reshaping criminal investigations, courts, and justice policy. Learn more: osgoodepd.ca/professional...

Justice Rewired: AI at the Frontlines of Crime and Criminal Justice - OsgoodePD

Be up to date on the latest AI tools, schemes, scams and criminal justice system innovations and responses. Learn how AI is impacting and transforming the field of criminal justice in Canada from how ...

osgoodepd.ca

Speaking this morning to ~80 high school students of the Law In Action Within Schools (LAWS) program was a chance to return the favour! Over the years LAWS students have contributed to projects at @lco-cdo.bsky.social and some have gone on to legal careers.

Today LCO Counsel @upsideofdown.bsky.social is attending the 1st meeting of John Howard Society of Ontario’s Digital Access to Justice project investigating how new legal tech can improve access to justice. See @lawfoundationon.bsky.social's funding announcement: lawfoundation.on.ca/news/close-t...

Close to $7M in core funding to eight leading access to justice organizations - The Law Foundation of Ontario

The Law Foundation of Ontario has approved 8 new Catalyst grants, representing $6.9M over 3 years.

lawfoundation.on.ca

LCO Counsel @upsideofdown.bsky.social is quoted in @thewalrus.ca's piece “When Evidence Can Be Deepfaked, How Do Courts Decide What’s Real?” in relation to his work on the AI in Criminal Justice project. Important read on where law, tech, and trust intersect. thewalrus.ca/when-evidenc...

When Evidence Can Be Deepfaked, How Do Courts Decide What’s Real? | The Walrus

AI is pushing Canada’s justice system toward a crisis of trust

thewalrus.ca

LCO Counsel Laura Snowdon discusses the state of Protection Orders in Ontario with @law360.bsky.social and shares some of the big questions for the Protection Orders project. Read the article here: www.law360.ca/ca/articles/...

Ontario protection order regime in need of urgent reform: law commission - Law360 Canada

A major law reform agency is saying that Ontario’s system for protection orders needs urgent reform to better prevent intimate partner and family violence in the province.

law360.ca

The quiet part out loud: Amazon's Jeff Bezos thinks you'll one day ditch your PC for a rented cloud PC instead. Will Big Tech even give us a choice? buff.ly/N4GcTI4

Bezos thinks you'll give up your PC for the cloud — will DRAM prices make it true?

Amazon's Jeff Bezos once revealed how he thinks of local PC hardware as antiquated, ready to be replaced by cloud options. Will DRAM prices make it come true?

windowscentral.com

Today @upsideofdown.bsky.social (Ryan Fritsch) joins Canada’s national Contract, Consumer, & Commercial Law Conference at @allard.ubc.ca to discuss legislative impacts of LCO's Consumer Protection project in Ontario & what’s next for digital consumer rights in Canada www.lco-cdo.org/en/our-curre...

Consumer Protection in the Digital Marketplace

Project Purpose The LCO’s Improving Consumer Protection in the Digital Marketplace: Final Report is the first comprehensive, independent review of Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA) in over 20 ...

lco-cdo.org

A great morning with @ojenroej.bsky.social at the @lawsocietylso.bsky.social. AI is coming to civil & crim justice. What first principles - Charter Rights, procedural fairness, evidence law - guide us in governing AI through Canadian values? And how do we teach this lens to teens? Law in action!

Should AI influence bail or sentencing decisions? Are AI-powered needs assessments in heath and social sectors reliable? Valid? Accurate? Today the LCO Crim AI Project consults with Legal Aid lawyers at the intersection where AI, evidence law and procedural fairness meet. www.lco-cdo.org/CrimAI

AI in Criminal Justice

Project Overview The Law Commission of Ontario’s AI in Criminal Justice Project is a groundbreaking survey and analysis of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Canadian criminal justice system. The pr...

lco-cdo.org

The tech "seems designed to stymie any attempts at auditing, transparency, and accountability," according to a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Cops’ favorite AI tool automatically deletes evidence of when AI was used

AI police tool is designed to avoid accountability, watchdog says.

arstechnica.com

The fix is in. No reason to trust city hall. This is an unfortunate thing.

august 🍂@auguststreet.ca · last yr.

public consultation results for dedicated transit lanes on bathurst+dufferin. note overwhelming support (75%+ dufferin, 67-68% bathurst) for transit priority+converting parking to transit lanes. transportation services recommendations + councillor compromises do not reflect what people want.

"For the child born this summer in Texas, whose parents receive no documents, whose name never appears in any system, and who grows up asking why she can’t go on field trips, apply for scholarships, or open a bank account, the consequences are not legal theory. They are her life."

The United States Is About to Embark on a Terrifying Experiment in Mass Statelessness

This scenario, until recently, might have read like a dystopian projection. But after the court’s decision on Friday, it is no longer hypothetical.

slate.com

Always bothered by the “what are we, China” discussions of surveillance, because Americans have done a bang-up job of creating their own expansive surveillance state, it’s just that lots of people are just beginning to notice.

Opinion | Can We See Our Future in China’s Cameras?

nytimes.com

AI risk assessment and profiling tools may make generalized inferences and discriminatory assumptions that are unreliable, unfair, and can easily ruin lives. Should such tools have a role in Canadian courts? themarkup.org/investigatio...

The NYC Algorithm Deciding Which Families Are Under Watch for Child Abuse – The Markup

How a family’s neighborhood, age, and mental health might get their case a deeper look

themarkup.org

LCO’s @upsideofdown.bsky.social (Ryan Fritsch) led a discussion yesterday at the Canadian national conference of civilian police oversight agencies about the challenges and opportunities of AI in criminal justice. Get involved in LCOs criminal AI consultations: www.lco-cdo.org/CrimAI

“If the reports about Flock Nova are true, this is precisely the kind of dystopian panopticon we’ve warned about,” EFF’s @mguariglia.bsky.social told Government Technology News.

Flock’s Newest Police Tool Sparks Data Controversy

Flock Safety, a license plate reading tech firm that recently bought a drone company, is taking heat over the data sources for its new platform. It’s not the only law enforcement technology attracting...

govtech.com

Canadian civil society and policy experts call on the government to advance a coherent digital policy reform agenda:

Civil society calls for overhaul of Canada’s approach to digital policy

OpenMedia works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance-free. We create community-driven campaigns to engage, educate, and empower people to safeguard the Internet.

openmedia.org

www.404media.co/license-plat...

License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows

Flock, which has license plate readers (LPRs) all around the country, wants police to be able to “jump from LPR to person,” according to leaked audio obtained by 404 Media.

404media.co

An arson attack in Colorado had detectives stumped. The way they solved the case could put everyone at risk. www.wired.com/story/find-m...

3 Teens Almost Got Away With Murder. Then Police Found Their Google Searches

An arson attack in Colorado had detectives stumped. The way they solved the case could put everyone at risk.

wired.com

404 Media reports on the license plate reader company building a massive surveillance network that could help police more easily track people without a warrant or court order. www.404media.co/lice...

License Plate Reader Company Flock Is Building a Massive People Lookup Tool, Leak Shows

Flock, which has license plate readers (LPRs) all around the country, wants police to be able to “jump from LPR to person,” according to leaked audio obtained by 404 Media.

404media.co

ICYMI: We Robot 2025 has a new permanent online home @windsorlaw.bsky.social, along with 2 exciting updates: 🤖 Video links are now included for each of our panels. Revisit or check out the conversation if you couldn't join us in person. 🤖 And (see next post) 1/3 www.uwindsor.ca/law/3450/wer...

Records reviewed by WIRED show law enforcement agencies are eager to take advantage of the data trails generated by a flood of new internet-connected vehicle features. www.wired.com/story/police...

Car Subscription Features Raise Your Risk of Government Surveillance, Police Records Show

Records reviewed by WIRED show law enforcement agencies are eager to take advantage of the data trails generated by a flood of new internet-connected vehicle features.

wired.com

Here’s a peek at the Intro & Summary to the AI in Criminal Justice series, authored by Nye Thomas and Ryan Fritsch Voici un aperçu de l'Introduction et sommaire de la série sur l’IA dans le système de justice pénale, rédigée par Nye Thomas et Ryan Fritsch www.lco-cdo.org/wp-content/u...