AI cameras spark privacy concerns at high school in Goodyear

AI security cameras at Arizona schools spark backlash

Surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence capabilities are now installed in every campus across the Buckeye Union High School District, sparking intense privacy concerns. Posters inside the hallways of one high school warn students they are being watched. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez has more.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence capabilities are now in every campus in a Valley school district. Some argue that not just the cameras, but the posters warning students they are being watched, feel like an invasion of privacy.

What we know:

Words like creepy, disturbing, sadistic and Orwellian were used to describe the situation. 

The Buckeye Union High School District confirmed that the AI facial recognition technology has been turned off. However, it is the posters inside the hallways of Estrella Foothills High School, warning the students they are on camera, that are making the surveillance system seem sinister.

One poster reads, "Do good because it’s right, not because you’re on camera."

Another says, "Integrity means doing right even when no one’s watching. But yeah, we are watching for safety."

What they're saying:

"It is creepy," a tipster said, who shared the images with FOX 10. "It is creepy. Like I feel like a robot. Like I got to on watch. It made me feel like I’m not myself."

Louis Rossmann, whose YouTube channel touts 2.5 million subscribers, made a video about the district's camera system, racking up nearly 300,000 views.

"There’s something about telling kids, ‘But yeah, we are watching,’ that is weird," Rossmann said in the YouTube video. "You’re conditioning people with being okay with being surveilled."

Dig deeper:

The Buckeye Union High School District says it applied for a $500,000 federal safety grant to upgrade its failing camera system. The district purchased Verkada cameras, installed by Oculens, with AI capabilities.

"What bothers me the most here is the fact that who’s watching the cameras," the tipster said. "Like it could be some pedophile for all I care. Its mind-boggling to me. It's very freaky, it’s creeping me out."

The District's Response:

The district says the only eyes on the footage are administration and school security.

"We do not have that feature turned on because we have not decided as a district if we are going to use it," Superintendent Steve Bebee wrote. "Should we decide to turn that feature on, we would first need governing board approval, and then we would have to give all families the opportunity to opt in for their student’s facial recognition to be used."

Bebee added that they can provide access to Goodyear Police and Buckeye Police "in a real emergency situation to monitor the campuses." However, the agencies don't have access to the cameras unless the district grants them access.

Local perspective:

As for the posters, the law requires public schools to tell people they are on camera. At Estrella Foothills High School, the signage was created by administrators with the goal of making it more user-friendly.

"It is a way where we are watched all the time," the tipster said. "I feel like it’s brainwashing. It’s disgusting."

The AI technology is not turned on. But, in the case of an emergency, Buckeye and Goodyear police can tap into the camera system if they need to. The district says it does not pay for storage, so all the video is deleted every 30 days.