The Australian Federal Police stated that due to the large amount of data being analyzed in their investigation, they have no choice but to rely on artificial intelligence to search through seized mobile phones and other devices, as its use is increasing.
Benjamin Lamont, AFP’s technical strategy and data manager, mentioned that the agency’s surveys contain an average of 40 terabytes worth of data. This includes material from 58,000 referrals per year to the company’s Child Exploitation Center, with a cyber incident reported every six minutes.
“Therefore, we have no choice but to rely on AI,” he stated at the Microsoft AI conference in Sydney.
In addition to participating in the federal trial of Copilot AI assistant technology, AFP is utilizing Microsoft tools to develop its own custom AI for use within government agencies. This involves translating 6 million emails and analyzing 7,000 hours of video footage.
One of the datasets AFP is currently working on is 10 petabytes (10,240TB), with each seized mobile phone potentially containing 1TB of data. Lamont explained that much of the work AFP is looking to use AI for is to structure the files obtained to make it easier for officers to process.
AFP is also developing AI to detect deepfake images and exploring ways to isolate, clean, and analyze data obtained during investigations in a secure and fully disconnected environment. The agency is considering using generative AI to create text summaries of images and videos to prevent officers from being unexpectedly exposed to graphic content.
Lamont acknowledged that AFP has faced criticism over its use of technology, particularly in regards to using Clearview AI, a facial recognition service built on internet photos.
He emphasized the importance of discussing the ethical and responsible use of AI within the AFP, ensuring that humans are always involved in decision-making processes arising from its use. AFP has established an internal Responsible Technology Committee for this purpose.
Source: www.theguardian.com
