TL;DR: Government bills like the EU’s AI Act or DOJ’s Sensitive Data rule promise restrictions. But loopholes and lack of enforcement mean surveillance grows unchecked—tracking mass populations while we cheer minimal reforms.

Paint It Pretty, They Say

• EU AI Act sets risk tiers—but excludes many surveillance uses. Technical literacy obligations exist—but oversight is minimal.
• U.S. federal proposals (AI Bill of Rights, Algorithmic Accountability Act) keep dying in Congress under gridlock.
• 16 states debate AI profiling laws—but few reach concrete enforcement.

Why Surveillance Wins

• Agencies and private firms dump AI cams, biometrics, predictive policing into cities. Public contracts outlive laws.
• Policymakers applaud the bills—no infrastructure audits.
• Surveillance grows under “innovation” rhetoric; privacy regulators evolve slower than drone deployments.

TL;DR

• Bills exist. Implementation doesn’t.
• Laws discriminate between benign and dangerous AI—yet spy cameras skirt both.
• Society applauds virtue, not action.

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Posted by someone who reads legislation PDFs for protest ammo—not compliance manuals.