Tracking

Definition

Tracking refers to the systematic collection and analysis of data about an individual’s movements, online activities, communications, purchases, or other behaviours over time. AI significantly enhances tracking capabilities by enabling the fusion of data from multiple sources — GPS signals, Wi-Fi connections, facial recognition cameras, browsing cookies, app usage, payment records, and IoT devices — into comprehensive behavioural profiles. AI-powered tracking can identify individuals across different contexts and platforms, predict future behaviour, and operate continuously without the resource constraints that limit human surveillance. The resulting data streams enable detailed reconstruction of daily routines, social relationships, and personal preferences.

How It Relates to AI Threats

Tracking is a fundamental concern within the Privacy and Surveillance Threats domain, particularly the behavioral-profiling-without-consent sub-category. AI transforms tracking from a targeted activity requiring significant resources into a scalable, automated process applicable to entire populations. Facial recognition in public spaces, device fingerprinting across websites, and cross-platform identity resolution allow organisations and governments to maintain persistent surveillance of individuals without their knowledge. The data generated through AI-powered tracking feeds into profiling, social scoring, and targeted manipulation systems, creating a surveillance infrastructure whose scope and persistence would have been technically infeasible without artificial intelligence.

Why It Occurs

• Digital devices and connected infrastructure continuously emit data that can be collected and correlated
• AI enables automated identity resolution across platforms, devices, and physical locations
• Advertising-funded business models create economic incentives for comprehensive behavioural tracking
• Consent mechanisms are often designed to secure agreement rather than inform genuine choice
• Regulatory enforcement against unlawful tracking has not kept pace with the sophistication of tracking technologies

Real-World Context

AI-powered tracking has been deployed across commercial and governmental domains. Retail environments use computer vision to track customer movements and dwell times. Advertising technology companies maintain tracking profiles across thousands of websites through fingerprinting and cross-device identification. Government agencies have used cell phone location data to monitor population movements. The EU’s ePrivacy Directive and GDPR impose consent requirements for tracking, and the EU AI Act places restrictions on certain biometric tracking uses in public spaces, though enforcement varies considerably across jurisdictions and sectors.