CW+ Premium Content/CW Nordics

Finland is examining the wider deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to support crowd control, immigration resource analysis and forward-looking regional population planning. The country’s Interior and Justice ministries have established a joint expert group to examine the legal ramifications of using AI to monitor large gatherings and “individual movements” in outdoor spaces in urban and rural settings. Finnish municipalities and police authorities are interested in deploying AI systems to deliver more precise “crowd headcounts” in urban settings, especially as part of the security infrastructure around large public assemblies such as music festivals and sports events. The City of Helsinki (CoH) became Finland’s first urban district to launch an AI-enhanced camera “crowd counting” project in August 2020. The AI video camera surveillance technology was pilot-tested in Helsinki during August and September in partnership with smart tech company Viria. Two popular city centre sites were chosen for the test, ...