in brief - Experts warn that expanding AI surveillance in Australian policing poses serious civil liberties risks. - Privacy advocates have called for stronger laws to prevent unchecked algorithmic overreach in public spaces. Artificial intelligence is increasingly used by police departments across Australia, with experts warning that lines must be drawn over the technology's use, invoking the dystopian world depicted in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four as a potential future to avoid. Police departments are starting to trial the use of AI technology for "various forms of surveillance" and "predictive policing", professor Toby Walsh, chief scientist at the UNSW AI Institute, told SBS News. In WA, police have been trialling AI facial recognition software to scan pedestrians on the street and compare their faces against watchlists. In the trial's first week, 130,000 people were scanned, leading to 18 arrests. Walsh said that while most people would be "pleased" with the result, he believes such public surveillance is "an erosion of the things that we used to value". "The question is, how much are we willing to trade those values for the benefits that the technology is bringing?" News that makes sense Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox. Overseas, the rise of AI in surveillance technology has become an increasingly contested topic. In the United States, citizens have been taking action against the surveillance cameras of the AI company Flock Safety, which has tens of thousands of devices across the country. Videos of people destroying the cameras have gone viral on social media. Tom Sulston, head of policy at the advocacy group Digital Rights Watch, told SBS News that, while Flock cameras are not currently used outside of the US, "plenty" of companies in Australia