https://truthout.org/articles/super-bowl-ad-for-ring-cameras-touted-ai-surveillance-network/ Skip to content Skip to footer Truthout * Latest * About * Donate * ABOUT * LATEST * DONATE Trending: * ICE * Donald Trump * Epstein files * Surveillance * Palestine Truthout * Latest * About * Donate Menu * Latest * About Us * Subscribe * Donate Search [ ] Search Filter Search (*) Search All Content ( ) Articles ( ) Audio Posts ( ) Video Posts ( ) Authors Social Media * Facebook * Bluesky * Flipboard * Instagram * Twitter * RSS Sections * Culture & Media * Economy & Labor * Education & Youth * Environment & Health * Human Rights * Immigration * LGBTQ Rights * Politics & Elections * Prisons & Policing * Racial Justice * Reproductive Rights * War & Peace * Series & Podcasts Trending * ICE * Donald Trump * Epstein files * Surveillance * Palestine Latest Donald Trump Trump's Fuel Embargo Forces Cuba to Take Emergency Steps to Avert Catastrophe Department of Justice DOJ Under Congressional Scrutiny After Improper Redactions in Epstein Files Donald Trump Some Public Health Workers Assigned to Guantanamo, Other ICE Jails, Are Quitting COVID-19 Tuberculosis and COVID-19 Detected at Camp East Montana ICE Jail in El Paso More * About * Donate * Manage Your Donation * Support Our Work * Subscribe * Submission Guidelines * Financial Information * Privacy Policy * Memorial Essay Prize * Truthout Center for Grassroots Journalism * Job Openings * Contact Us (c) 2026 Truthout News | Prisons & Policing Super Bowl Ad for Ring Cameras Touted AI Surveillance Network Ring's AI-powered network is likely to be used in its partnerships with law enforcement and agencies like ICE. By Sharon Zhang , Truthout Published February 9, 2026 Ring security cameras are displayed on a shelf at a Best Buy store on June 1, 2023 in San Rafael, California.Ring security cameras are displayed on a shelf at a Best Buy store on June 1, 2023 in San Rafael, California.Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size. In an ad during the Super Bowl on Sunday night, Amazon's Ring touted the establishment of an AI-powered surveillance network through their camera systems, which the company whitewashed under a feel-good narrative about finding lost dogs. The ad for Ring's free "Search Party" program urges users to "be a hero" by using their surveillance cameras to help identify lost dogs in their neighborhood. It aired to millions of viewers during Super Bowl LX on Sunday night. "Pets are family, but every year, 10 million go missing," narrated Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, over uncanny, seemingly AI-generated clips of lost dog posters adhered to poles. A huge proportion of the ads during the Super Bowl were for or featured AI, frustrating many viewers. "Search Party from Ring uses AI to help families find lost dogs," he said, while the video showed Ring camera footage in which the software detects a dog in the frame. The company's website says that the Search Party app can also be used by non-Ring camera owners. Amazon's website also touts Ring's goal of equipping over 4,000 animal shelters across the U.S. with Ring camera systems, a $1 million initiative, claiming this will further help locate lost pets. Related Story Demonstrators protest the the killing of Tyre Nichols on January 27, 2023, in Memphis, Tennessee. Op-Ed | Racial Justice MLK's Struggle Against Policing and Surveillance Is Still Alive in Memphis Today From surveillance of racial justice organizing to terror under Trump's Memphis task force, we face ongoing repression. By Earle J. Fisher , Truthout January 19, 2026 Truthout However, the attempt at telling a heartwarming story of reuniting dogs with their owners masks Ring's true intentions of creating a nationwide surveillance system, analysts noted. "It starts with searching for a 'brown dog' but means the tech is there for license plate reading, face recognition, searching for suspects by description, etc," wrote surveillance and policing expert and scholar Matthew Guariglia on social media. "We already know they have a form cops can fill out to get access to footage without warrant or permission in an 'emergency' as determined by them. What will this mean for new features?" Guariglia noted that Ring would likely make the AI-powered features on by default, requiring users to manually search their settings to turn it off. Indeed, Ring has come under intense scrutiny for its collaboration with the criminal legal system, especially through its partnerships directly with police and with surveillance companies Flock and Axon, which grant law enforcement access to an enormous amount of information, including tracking of individuals, license plate recognition, and more. Flock's dragnet has been used by federal immigration agents to track immigrants and search for a person who received an abortion. It has also helped corporations make watch lists, following in the history of corporate blacklists of labor and social movement organizers. While Flock's hardware is largely in use in public locations, Ring cameras are ubiquitous in neighborhoods today. According to Consumer Reports, 30 percent of U.S. households have a video doorbell camera, with Ring being one of the most popular brands. Access to that network gives Flock and law enforcement eyes in neighborhoods across the U.S., with the ability to track millions of Americans. A feature that the ad didn't mention, for instance, is Ring's " Familiar Faces" program. According to the company's website, this beta feature "uses Ring Artificial Intelligence (AI) to recognize people." Users help train the AI system to recognize particular faces over time, it says, so they can then receive a "personalized notification" when that particular person is at the door. The feature also "works with 24/7 Continuous Recording," the website says, referring to their cameras' ability to record audio and video at all times. Press freedom is under attack As Trump cracks down on political speech, independent media is increasingly necessary. 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