411. Big Easy’s Big Brother

We get into a secret partnership between the New Orleans Police Department and Project NOLA, a private nonprofit organisation that owns and operates an extensive network of cameras blanketing New Orleans. For years, Project NOLA has been running live facial recognition through their cameras and sending automated notifications to the police when a match is made using Project NOLA’s privately maintained list of “wanted people.” By going through an unofficial private partner, police have been able to sidestep and undermine legal prohibition on their use of AI technologies like facial recognition. We get into the history of using New Orleans as a testbed for policing technology, the dangerous precedent being set by this public-private relationship, and how this surveillance nightmare is on track to become even more expansive and unleashed thanks to potential policy changes. ••• Police secretly monitored New Orleans with facial recognition cameras https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/05/19/live-facial-recognition-police-new-orleans/ ••• A bad facial recognition match costs Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto's office. See how much https://www.nola.com/news/jefferson_parish/facial-recognition-sheriff/article_3ed262bc-e360-4383-82fb-728b3783cb93.html ••• New Orleans City Council proposed ordinance https://cityofno.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=42&clip_id=5115&meta_id=741682 Standing Plugs: ••• Order Jathan’s new book: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520398078/the-mechanic-and-the-luddite ••• Subscribe to Ed’s substack: https://substack.com/@thetechbubble ••• Subscribe to TMK on patreon for premium episodes: https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (bsky.app/profile/jathansadowski.com) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.x.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (bsky.app/profile/jebr.bsky.social)