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The right to privacy is so 1984. 

First it was 111 Flock cameras tracking our every drive. After howls of protest, the City of Denver canceled that contract, and adopted 50 Axon cameras instead. Which should make you feel especially safe, because Axon already supplies tasers (zap!) and police body-cams (smile!) to the city of Denver. The photo data was made available to our benevolent federal government, as well.

Said one Columbine Valley cop: “You know we have cameras in [Denver]. You can’t get a breath of fresh air in or out of that place without us knowing,”

Where are those cameras, exactly? 

Find out at deflock.org. “Automated License Plate Readers,” the Deflock website informs us, “are AI-powered cameras that capture and analyze images of all passing vehicles, storing details like your car’s location, date and time. They also capture your car’s make, model, color, and identifying features such as dents, roof racks and bumper stickers, often turning these into searchable data points.”

I’ve always dreamed of being a searchable data point! It makes me feel so connected — to local police departments, the FBI, Homeland Security, ICE, and who knows, maybe the Fort Collins Library. I’ll return that overdue book soon, RoboLibrarian!

You may wonder what they’re capturing. Through the Freedom of Information for Cartoonists Act, I uncovered images of…

…that guy commuting back to Evergreen, on I-70. You never know if that drive will interfere with dinnertime, after all. 

A cartoon drawing of a Flock camera's view of a man wearing chef's hat grilling in the front seat of his car
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)

…the new elk migration up Trail Ridge Road. 

A cartoon drawing of a Flock camera observing an elk driving a car on a mountain road. Its antlers are sticking out of the sunroof and the drivers side window
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)

…the early morning gathering of our law enforcement officials, before they chase down photo-felons. 

A cartoon drawing of police cars stacked up outside a Voodoo Doughnut store
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)

…our elected state officials reporting for duty via Waymo. Hey, it looked like a passable route on Google Maps. 

A cartoon drawing of Waymo driverless cars driving up the west steps of the Colorado Capitol building
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)

…Wyoming drivers, for whom the “winds of change” extend beyond surveillance. I wonder if they have Flock cams in Kansas, where they’ll land. 

A cartoon drawing of a camper being blown off the highway as Flock cameras witch. A rabbit, a witch and the Bucking Horse and Rider from the Wyoming license plate are flying through the air.
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)

…new, high-tech training practices at Coors Field. The Rockies need that. 

A cartoon drawing of a Flock camera observing Colorado Rockies players walking up to the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)

The next improvement: the “singularity”—when AI achieves consciousness. Once that happens, can android love be far behind? The cams tell us: It already has. 

Flock cameras gather around a car watching androids kiss
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Type of Story: Opinion

Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.

Peter Moore is an editor, writer, illustrator, ghostwriter, co-author, radio host, TV guest, speaker, editorial consultant, and journalism lecturer. In his most recent gig he was interim editor-in-chief of BACKPACKER magazine. Peter...