Increased surveillance technology, however, does not always result in violence, but its impact is still felt among vulnerable communities. The GPF’s history of serving as the heavy arm of the neo-colonial state through suppression of dissent and extrajudicial killings will be further enhanced by this technology. This contributes towards an exacerbation of inequalities that can be difficult to address given underdeveloped accountability mechanisms for innovative technologies in Guyana. While there are positives to these technologies such as aiding in helping to find missing persons and solvingĬrimes, what they also do is place more power into the hands of State mechanisms that have historically been harmful towards marginalized communities. The usage of surveillance technology such as facial recognition demonstrates the conundrum inherent within the dual-use that innovative technology can encapsulate. Similarly, modern tracking/surveillance technology reinforces these unequal power systems, providing the police force with the means to surveil and target historically oppressed groups in countries such as Guyana. This led to atrocities such as genocide, enslavement and indentureship across the Global South, the ramifications of which are still being felt today. During the early stages of colonialist expansion, the use of technology such as maps and astrolabes allowed European exploration vessels to successfully navigate the open seas, into new territories. It then moved towards the imprisonment of former slaves and indentured persons following the Emanci-pation Act, before transitioning to the modern policing system known today. The GPF as an institution was birthed out of the colonial desire to capture runaway slaves during enslavement. We should be cautious about it as it can increase police power over citizens, further impacting the democratic rights of historically marginalized populations in Guyana. While it can serve this purpose, facial recognition technology is a form of surveillance that will provide additional power to the GPF to monitor, track, and easily identify citizens. The planned use of this technology is aimed at enhancing forensic investigative capacity. In 2022, the Government of Guyana indicated that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) would soon be utilizing smart technology such as facial recognition to fight crime. One of the areas earmarked for technological evolution was social order. In order to maintain its trajectory as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, Guyana began moves to revolutionise the country’s technology in order to encourage innovative solutions to addressing pressing social, cultural, environmental and economic issues. With new industries, came enhanced needs for technological evolution in a country that has lagged behind the region in ICT development. In 2015, Guyana was recategorized as a middle-income country.
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