Jakarta, VIVA \u2013 Thousands of supermarkets in France are now using\nartificial intelligence (AI) to detect theft, analysing customer\nmovements in real time to flag suspicious behaviour.<\/p>\n
The technology has reportedly reduced losses for many supermarkets,\nbut has also raised questions about privacy and transparency. The\nsoftware works by analysing real-time footage from in-store cameras.<\/p>\n
When the algorithm detects suspicious movements or behaviour \u2014 such\nas placing items into a bag or repeatedly touching products without\nscanning them \u2014 the software sends short video clips to store staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we get an alert. It might be a simple gesture, it might also be\nan ambiguous gesture, you know, like a hand going into a bag. Everyone\nis on alert, everyone is watching the cameras,\u201d said Nelson Lopes, a\nsupermarket manager in Montreuil, Paris, as quoted by Euronews on\nFriday, 20 February 2026.<\/p>\n
Supermarket owner Arul Judson said he suffered losses of nearly\n60,000 euros (Rp1.2 billion) in his first year without AI, but now says\nhis losses have fallen by roughly half, to around Rp600 million.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Parisian pharmacist Latifa Gharbi pays 200 euros (Rp4\nmillion) per month to upgrade her surveillance cameras with AI, saving\n4,000 euros (Rp79.6 million) per year and avoiding the cost of hiring\nsecurity guards.<\/p>\n
However, AI currently sits in a legal grey area. France has no\nspecific legislation either permitting AI behavioural surveillance in\ncommercial spaces or requiring shops to inform customers when the\ntechnology is in use.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s data protection authority, CNIL (the National Commission on\nInformatics and Liberty), stated clearly that \u201cthese cameras analyse\npersonal data on a large scale, and their commercial use is prohibited\nwithout specific legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite this institutional warning, French software startup Veesion\nhas equipped \u201c2,000 to 3,000 shops\u201d across France. The company maintains\nthat its technology complies with European GDPR data regulations and\ndoes not perform biometric analysis.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, many shop owners argue that AI software is merely a\nsupport tool to protect their livelihoods in the face of rising theft\namid an increasingly severe cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-security-guards-needed-just-ai-1771657134", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }