San Diego University San Diego University
San Diego State University faces student backlash after quietly installing a $1.3M AI camera network across classrooms and dorms, raising privacy and transparency concerns. San Diego University - via CBS 8 San Diego YouTube account

Outrage has erupted at San Diego State University after students learned that the campus had quietly completed a more than $1.3 million rollout of over 1,300 AI-enabled security cameras monitoring classrooms, residence halls, and other facilities.

Documents obtained by the student newspaper "The Daily Aztec" show the university police-led upgrade was finalized in 2024 and expanded surveillance across academic buildings, parking structures, dining halls, recreation centers, and dormitories.

The network uses Avigilon cameras equipped with artificial intelligence features, including facial recognition, license plate identification, object detection, and behavior analysis, according to procurement records and product specifications cited in local reports by the Daily Aztec.

More than 330 cameras are installed in student housing alone, representing nearly 28 percent of the system, with the largest first-year residence hall containing 79 cameras and other dorms hosting dozens more, according to internal campus documents.

Eighteen of 24 university residential buildings now have AI-enabled surveillance, yet housing contracts and the official housing website do not explain that the cameras include advanced AI functions, student journalists reported.

Student critics say they were not meaningfully informed about the system's scope or capabilities and argue that the monitoring infringes on their privacy in spaces where they live, study, and socialize, the New York Post reported.

One second-year business student told local media that the constant monitoring makes students feel as if they are under continuous watch, raising concerns about how their daily activities on campus may be recorded and stored.

University officials insist the AI tools are tightly limited and are not used to profile individuals or track behavior.

In a statement to a local outlet, an SDSU police spokesperson said the cameras' AI is configured primarily for basic motion alerts in restricted areas outside normal hours, and that features such as facial recognition and advanced behavior analytics are disabled to address privacy concerns and comply with campus policies, as per Yahoo News.

Topics Artificial intelligence