The “BlueWhale” uses special sensors to spot underwater and surface threats, and can help clear mines. The cool bit? It’s fully autonomous and runs on batteries for weeks. Basically, a Roomba’s scarier cousin with serious military vibes.
The sound police are coming for ya
Sorama
Look at that picture. What we’ve got here is not just another traffic camera, but a fully deputized decibel detective. Meet the sound police.
These new noise cameras are the cousins of speed and red-light cameras, but instead of catching you with a heavy foot, they’re busting you for a heavy exhaust.
No radar guns here, just sensitive microphones measuring every decibel you dish out. Too loud? Ticket’s on the way, courtesy of the volume vigilante.
🔊 Silence of the lambos
Each setup has super-sensitive microphones paired with a camera. If your car’s exhaust note tips over the legal decibel limit (often in the low 80s), the mic triggers the camera. It snaps your license plate faster than you can say “downshift,” and a ticket is on its way.
No police officer, no flashing lights, only stealthy surveillance keeping score 24/7. A story in The Wall Street Journal (paywall link) highlighted Newport, Rhode Island, where two of these were placed along scenic Ocean Avenue.
Within days, a Mustang GT got nailed for hitting 85 decibels, only two over the limit, and was slapped with a $250 fine. New York City’s had them since 2021. Get caught repeatedly, and you could be out nearly $2,500. Ouch.
🏎️ Too loud and furious
If you’re a neighbor who’s sick of the late-night “look at me” exhaust revs, you’re probably cheering. Imagine sitting on your porch and hearing the ocean instead of a rolling car meet.
Some of these tickets hit totally stock, street-legal cars.
And here’s where I gulp: When I’m in my Porsche and flip into manual mode, rowing through the gears with that beautiful exhaust note singing … let’s just say I’d better be ready for my close-up (and maybe my checkbook).
🚔 Roar and peace
Big Brother gets an upgrade
Coming to a street near you? The U.S. is eyeing Britain’s surveillance playbook. Facial recognition systems scan every face in public and cross-check it against databases to spot fugitives in real time.
🪞 Got a smart mirror? I do, and this really doesn’t shock me, but it might you. That mirror might not just be giving you the latest cable news and weather. Turns out it’s probably logging your voice, analyzing your face and selling your data. If yours has a mic or camera, congrats! You might’ve installed a surveillance device over your sink. I’m actually glad the mirror’s watching, someone should see all this emotional growth.
80,000
That’s how many AI-powered cameras Flock has watching U.S. streets. The $7.5B startup’s small surveillance-tech empire is peeking at plates, bumper stickers and dents on cars from Atlanta to Anaheim. Think Big Brother, but solar-powered and subscription-based. Cops say it’s helped nail everything from ATM gangs to would-be shooters, but privacy watchdogs are freaking out.
Sleep surveillance: Is your Fitbit saying you’re waking up at night more than usual? It’s not because you’re broken, sleep tracking just got “more accurate.” Translation: Fitbit is clocking every micro-wiggle like it’s the NyQuil NSA. Google says this is step one in a whole series of sleep upgrades, rest assured.
The Amazon Bee
Amazon’s Bee records and transcribes your conversations. No secrets, no apologies, just full-on wearable surveillance.
Ring of suspicion: Police can now request your doorbell footage again, without a warrant, if it’s part of an “emergency” investigation. The program was paused earlier this year, but Amazon quietly flipped the switch back on. So yes, your front porch cam is now part of your local precinct’s surveillance network.
Copilot can see you: Microsoft just gave Copilot Vision full desktop eyes. Now, instead of peeking at one app, the AI can see everything you’ve got open. Yes, your billion tabs. Just hit the glasses icon and start chatting. You can also trigger it with your voice. It’s like Clippy evolved and learned surveillance tactics.
1 minute
That’s how much footage is mysteriously missing from Jeffrey Epstein’s jail video. The DOJ dropped 11 hours of grainy surveillance and still managed to skip the one minute everyone cares about. Conspiracy thriller writers, congrats, the feds just gave you your cold open. Oh, and it wasn’t just one, but two jail cams that “malfunctioned” near Epstein’s cell.
Spies on the road: Washington State’s using motion data from your phone — yep, the same one in your car’s cupholder — to find speeding hot spots. A Michelin-backed system anonymously logs braking and acceleration, then tips off the State Patrol. The upside? Fewer crashes. The downside? Your commute just joined the surveillance state. Not tracked personally, but just enough to ruin your shortcut.
Privacy vs. terrorism
The feds say the threat of a major terrorist attack is the highest since 9/11. How are they fighting back? Surveillance.
88%
That’s how many Gen Zers are cool with sharing their data for free. Now, Verb.AI’s giving them a reason to actually profit from the surveillance. Gen Z: simultaneously terrified of phone calls and totally fine letting a startup track their every digital move. “It’s not stalking if it’s opt-in,” apparently.
Facial ID, no thanks: Airport scanners know your face before TSA even checks your ID. It’s now live at 84 airports, pitched as “frictionless.” Opting out is possible, but no one tells you how. Critics say it screams surveillance state. TSA says it’s just “enhanced security.” Next upgrade: retina scan in the TSA PreCheck mirror.
👁️ New Orleans secret surveillance: For two years, police used facial recognition to track people in real time. They tapped into a private network of cameras to scan crowds for anyone on a wanted list and sent alerts to officers. The twist? It might not have been legal. The program’s now paused (paywall link).
🧟♂️ No face? No problem: AI’s tracking you anyway. A startup called Veritone made an AI that ditches facial recognition and still tracks you in video footage, just by how you walk and what you’re wearing. It’s already being used by cops and government agencies. The tech is legal, terrifying and possibly the start of your new fashion surveillance arc.
🪖 Welcome to drone country, soldier: The Army just launched its biggest makeover since the Cold War, and it’s all about drones. Think 1,000 drones (paywall link) per combat division, replacing aging gear with swarms of flying surveillance bots, delivery drones and attack craft that would make a Call of Duty dev blush.
👀 Smile, you’re on 15 different cameras: A journalist drove 300 miles across rural Virginia, then filed public records requests to see how often his car was caught on surveillance. The short answer: a lot, proof that even on the quiet backroads, Big Brother is watching and judging your late-night Taco Bell runs.
Don’t look up: Chinese scientists built a surveillance camera that can see your face from space. In a ground test, it locked onto a target 62 miles away and picked up tiny details with scary accuracy. It’s supposedly “100 times” better than today’s top spy cameras and lens-based telescopes.
Don’t let me drone on: The U.S. has a fancy, new spy drone that can fly at 15,000 feet for 14 hours, even while carrying heavy equipment. Most military drones fly for eight hours, tops, so this is a game-changer. Combat teams will use it for recon and surveillance.