Brand Story – Video-technology software provider Milestone Systems drives policies to protect people and innovation.
AI-driven video technology software represents just one way in which Milestone Systems makes society safer. Its policy work, however, takes that mission to the next level as it seeks to put privacy, accountability and responsible technology at the heart of all AI applications, protecting people and, consequently, innovation too.
From healthcare to smart cities, AI technologies today are transforming every industry they touch. The video security sector is no different. AI-enabled capabilities, such as video data analytics and machine learning, have multiplied the potential applications of video security tools, which, according to Milestone Systems’ CEO Thomas Jensen, have outpaced legislation.
“I absolutely do not believe that advanced technology development and use is adequately regulated today, especially with the capabilities of artificial intelligence,” he explains. “We already see this with our phones and how much data they track. The power of AI offers unprecedented opportunities that need to be properly managed.”
According to Jensen, regulatory laxity can create an environment in which the improper use of facial recognition could potentially undermine public trust in the legitimacy and social benefit of video security.
On a daily basis, Milestone Systems witnesses its solutions’ life-changing interventions firsthand.
For example, a city in North America utilized Milestone Systems’ video analytics to adjust rush hour traffic light coordination thereby decreasing traffic congestion, saving time and money, and cutting pollution. In another city, the police stake out of a suspected (and later proven) drug house was conducted via video surveillance for the 36 hours required to obtain a search warrant, providing valuable evidence and freeing up officers for other tasks.
In Denmark, video technology software, in conjunction with flood lights and alarms, warn passersby of a canal’s edge, reducing the number of accidents and drownings. For unfortunate individuals who still fall in, rescue teams can be alerted and deployed by the video system automatically.
Milestone Systems’ solutions help improve lives and outcomes in hospitals as well, where video technology software plays a vital role in enabling over-extended nursing staff to do more with less through virtual rounding and alerts triggered by abnormal movements within rooms. Video technology even protects patient privacy by blurring their identities and activities while still identifying when they might be in distress.
“Video surveillance can feel like an invasion of privacy if not used correctly, but it’s not the technology that’s a problem. It’s how it is used,” Jensen continues. “Video technology software can be focused to a very narrow space so that we can, for example, protect citizens from acts of harm before they happen. But it can also be used in ways that result in a huge invasion of privacy and breach of human rights—and we must protect against this.”
With the understanding that regulations are essential to both protecting human rights and advancing innovation, Milestone Systems has a long history of supporting responsible technology innovation.
In 2024, Milestone became the first technology company to adopt the G7 AI Code of Conduct. Four years after coauthoring the Copenhagen Letter in 2017, a promise by firms to place humans at the heart of the tech movement, Milestone Systems adopted the UN Guiding Principles for Human Rights in 2021. It also integrated human rights clauses into its contracts and licensing agreements.
Internally, Milestone Systems promotes responsible innovation by shining a spotlight on the unconscious bias that finds its way into generative AI. The company is currently building a training program for software developers on how to mitigate that bias. The team is also working to develop image enhancement capabilities that bolster video data accuracy, which would minimize the occurrence of false positives.
While the technology is impressive, some of Milestone Systems’ most impactful work comes through conversations with policymakers and standards associations across the EU and US.
“We engage with politicians and encourage them to yield some societal advantages in favor of safety, whilst still protecting human rights,” Jensen says. “I’m recommending they limit my ability to earn money by limiting the use of facial recognition to a predefined list. We remain ethically minded in our approach and encourage the entire tech industry to follow our approach.”
Any aversion to increased regulation probably stems from a large misconception: that increased regulation lowers profits. On the contrary, Milestone Systems believes that comprehensive regulations enable the public safety and trust required for AI technology to reach its full potential as a driver of positive transformation.
The EU’s AI Act and President Biden’s recent Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence lay the groundwork for AI’s responsible use.
Jensen emphasizes that regulations must stay as forward-looking as the technologies themselves.
“This is a journey. What we plan for today and implement tomorrow will be different six months down the road,” he concludes. “We don’t know what it will look like two years from now. It’s a journey with a moving target. That is why we emphasize the need to regulate use rather than the technology itself.”
What Milestone Systems does know, however, is that, regardless of what the future holds, it will continue advocating for legislation that embraces a human-centric approach to AI and protects the fundamental rights of every individual.
About Milestone Systems – Milestone Systems’ video software and analytics solutions leverage AI and IoT technology to give clients centralized oversight and actionable insight across their footprints. The solution’s cloud-based, on-premises and hybrid options empower public and private entities with the data needed to alter strategies and prevent unwanted outcomes. Through its video surveillance solutions, Milestone Systems aims to shape safer, more proactive societies.
Brand stories are paid content articles that allow Oregon Business advertisers to share news about their organizations and engage with readers on business and public policy issues. The stories are produced in house by the Oregon Business marketing department. For more information, contact associate publisher Courtney Kutzman.
