AI cameras spark privacy concerns at high school in Goodyear
AI cameras spark privacy concerns at high school in Goodyear
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/ai-cameras-spark-privacy-concerns-high-school-goodyear
Publish Date: 2026-05-18 19:36:00
Source Domain: www.fox10phoenix.com
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…
