THE U.S. & HIGH-TECH SURVEILLANCE: Americans are increasingly being watched, and some are worried about what that means.

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: Brief article

When you go to any airport in the U.S., you're being watched. When you walk into a Gap to look around, you're being watched. And it's possible you're being watched as you walk down the street in a big city.

"Surveillance in the United States has increased exponentially in the last 20 years," says Randolph Lewis, author of Under Surveillance: Being Watched in Modern America.

Lewis says the number of surveillance cameras in the U.S. is unknown, but he estimates it to be in the millions. That includes government cameras on buildings, street lights, and public transit, as well as closed-circuit cameras in stores, offices, and private buildings. Lewis says that only about 10 percent of those cameras are connected to any kind of high-tech software like facial recognition or artificial intelligence.

"But that's clearly what the future is," he says. "They will all be like that eventually."

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