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Senators want investigation of AI-enabled ammo vending machines (www.theverge.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

7 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/21328111

The machines are distributed by the Texas-based American Rounds.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is so dumb it beggars belief. Yes, prohibited people are not allowed to buy ammo. However, anyone can go anywhere and buy ammo with nothing more than an ID, and that's only an age check. Do these senators think Walmart is running a background check on me when I pick up a box of 12-gauge?!

Saw an amusing video showcasing the ammo cops had confiscated from gangbangers. These guys often had 3-4 different types of ammo in the same magazine. If they can't afford to visit Academy for a box of 20, they sure can't afford vending machine prices.

Wrong hill to fight on you idiots.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Well.

Walmart kinda does do a background check on you, yes. They have an entire biometric dossier, too.

They don’t care if you’re buying ammo illegally, though. But they are running background checks on everyone coming into their stores. Have been for a while.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Wait what? Background checks on everyone that goes in a Walmart?? That’s an insanely large number of people.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

yup.

So. Their security cameras, that are literally everywhere in the store? they're tied into all sorts of biometrics. Facial recognition, gate recognition.

They also get your name, address, etc, if you ever use a credit or debit card, and match it to that. Their system goes and dives and runs everything public about you, as well as they record everything you do, everything you buy, and build that into a dossier. Their loss prevention staff, get alerts about anyone they think needs to be watched.

pretty much all of the big box stores and other large retail chains are using these kinds of systems. hell, Some places have started using "smart" cameras to track how long you stare at the gossip rags while waiting to check out, or the candy as you walk by the candy aisle.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This all sounds like bullshit to me without sources.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

ACLU on biometrics

Forbes on IoT devices

ArsTech on facial rec. retailers love to blame everything they fucking can on shoplifters. it's a great excuse.

Walmart bragging about it in their online space. Sure, that's online. But Walmart has had the ability to track everything you do in the store for literal decades, and has actively developed AI facial recog (and lets be honest, other related biometrics). If you think the online data is valuable... then you gotta wonder about the physical end of it to.

And it's incredibly valuable as IoT tags start pushing you advertisements, and all those smart shelves they're installing are tracking where you look as they flash their cheery little adverts that are crafted with the advice and input of a small army of neuroscientistis. oh. that sounds ridiculous bullshit doesn't it? Actually, the field is now it's own field called 'neuromarketing'. the IoT shelves, the security systems tracking customers providing near-real-time feedback on those things all require a massive database.

What's really disgusting is that they will cheerfully lie to you and tell you its to make your experience better.. (if that's even true at all, it's because they want the spare change they didn't get.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Fuck yes. Thank you.