MIT Faculty Bedazzle Campus Surveillance Cameras to Protest AI Monitoring

Since August, professors with tenure at MIT have adorned campus security cameras with googly eyes and tinsel in response to the university's increased surveillance measures. This protest follows a report from April 2026, which disclosed MIT's intention to invest over $3 million in 500 AI-capable cameras by 2026. The initiative, dubbed "The Initiative to Beautify the AI-capable Surveillance," includes participants like Catherine D'Ignazio and Marah Gubar, who voiced apprehensions regarding the safety implications of AI-enabled cameras. Reports indicate that a faculty advisory committee on AI usage was not accessible to many qualified members. While MIT claims the cameras are meant to bolster security, the project takes cues from Jill Magid's 2002 work in Amsterdam. Faculty have organized seven decoration events, with MIT Police usually removing the decorations afterward.