by Jonathan Chadwick, Daily Mail:
Buying something in the shops used to be as simple as choosing the item and handing over the money.
But in recent years, the great British shopping experience has dramatically changed.
In 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) is patrolling Britain’s retail stores to keep an eye on customers as they stock up on essentials.
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Now, people are subjected to a slew of AI-powered tech, including intelligent surveillance cameras, robots, facial recognition systems and online age checks.
Home Bargains is the latest to follow the trend, with a new AI-enabled security system that watches you while you scan your own items.
Meanwhile, Asda’s new live facial recognition system scans CCTV images and compares results to a known list of individuals who have previously committed criminal activity in one of its stores.
It joins the likes of ‘buzz for booze’ buttons in Morrisons, AI age-checks to buy knives from John Lewis and even high tech robots in Tesco.
So, is AI being used in your favourite shop? Here, MailOnlinereveals the Orwellian technologies being used to tackle crime – despite criticism from experts.
From ‘buzz for booze’ buttons in Morrisons to age-checks to buy knives at John Lewis, here’s the Orwellian technologies being used to tackle crime
Live facial recognition technology has been integrated into Asda’s existing CCTV network and works by scanning images and comparing the results to a known list of individuals who have previously committed criminal activity in one of its stores (stock image)
Madeleine Stone, senior advocacy officer at Big Brother Watch, said retailers ‘should be extremely cautious when experimenting with novel forms of AI-powered surveillance in stores’.
‘We are at risk of companies creating high streets staffed not by workers, but by intrusive new technologies and with human oversight being substituted for pervasive surveillance which tracks our bodies and behaviours,’ she told MailOnline.
‘While some security measures are reasonable, technologies such as live facial recognition are too intrusive to ever be used safely and must be banned.’
