10月8日：据知情人士透露，Flock Security计划裁减约18%的员工。这家专注于研发人工智能监控摄像头及车牌识别系统的公司，正面临来自社区和立法者的日益强烈的反对声浪。
Oct 8 : Flock Safety plans to let go of about 18 per cent of its employees, people with direct knowledge of the plans said on Thursday, as the maker of AI-powered surveillance cameras and license-plate readers faces mounting opposition to its products from communities and lawmakers.
这些人士表示，此次裁员是在公司此前实施的自愿离职计划之后进行的，预计将影响Flock公司约270名员工。Flock是一家近年来发展迅速的监控技术初创企业。员工们将在本月底前离职。由于公司尚未正式公布这一计划，相关消息人士要求匿名。Flock方面拒绝对此事发表评论。
The people said job cuts came after a voluntary buyout program and are expected to impact roughly 270 employees at Flock, a surveillance technology startup that has seen rapid growth in recent years. Employees will leave the company at the end of the month. Sources declined to be identified as the company has yet to make the plan public. Flock declined to comment.
据《Wired》杂志上月报道，Flock曾在9月份宣布了一项自愿离职计划，鼓励员工自愿申请离职。该公司目前拥有约1500名员工。
In September, Flock announced a voluntary separation program, asking employees to apply if they wanted to leave the company, Wired reported last month. The company has about 1,500 employees.
尽管Flock获得了风险投资家的热烈关注，但它仍面临着来自监管机构、立法者以及隐私保护倡导者的日益严格的审查。最近的一项路透社/Ipsos调查显示，美国民众对Flock监控系统的使用态度存在分歧：38%的受访者支持在社区中使用这些摄像头，而47%的受访者则反对。
Flock faces growing scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers, and privacy advocates, despite drawing strong investor interest among venture capitalists. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Americans are divided on whether Flock cameras are a good idea. Some 38 per cent of the country supports the use of Flock cameras in their community, compared to 47 per cent who oppose their use.
Flock的监控网络遍布美国49个州，共有约12万台人工智能驱动的摄像头，这些摄像头被安装在街道和高速公路上，能够自动识别过往车辆的车牌并记录相关信息。
Across 49 states, Flock’s network of around 120,000 AI-powered cameras, affixed to streets and highways, automatically read license plates and record vehicles as they pass.
这家总部位于亚特兰大的公司成立于2017年，迄今已从风险投资机构筹集了超过9.5亿美元的资金。其中最新一轮融资（2.75亿美元）由Andreessen Horowitz领投，该轮融资使公司的估值达到了75亿美元。据公司称，这些资金被用于建设新的美国制造工厂，并推动其无人机产品的研发项目。
The company, based in Atlanta and founded in 2017, has raised over $950 million from venture capital investors, with its latest $275 million round in March led by Andreessen Horowitz valuing the company at $7.5 billion. The funds have supported a new US manufacturing facility and an upcoming push into drone products, according to the company.
Flock公司向超过4,800家执法机构以及近1,000家企业提供摄像头和相关的软件产品。该公司声称其技术有助于犯罪调查与侦破，但近年来却因涉嫌侵犯用户隐私及不当的数据共享行为而受到越来越多的质疑和批评。
Flock provides cameras and software to more than 4,800 law enforcement agencies and nearly 1,000 businesses. The company says its technology helps investigate and solve crimes, but it has come under increasing scrutiny over alleged privacy violations and data-sharing practices.
公众的反对声浪日益高涨：今年9月，佛罗里达州禁止在州级公路上使用自动车牌识别系统，理由是这些系统可能侵犯用户的隐私（而这些系统正是由Flock公司提供的）。此外，Home Depot公司的股东在得知Flock公司的数据被用于移民执法后，要求该公司审查其与监控技术供应商的合作关系。
Public backlash has grown. In September, Florida banned automated license plate readers from state highways, citing privacy risks tied to Flock’s cameras. Home Depot investors recently demanded reviews of the retailer's partnerships with surveillance technology vendors after reports that Flock’s data was used in immigration enforcement.
Flock公司还面临法律诉讼的威胁——例如在弗吉尼亚州，有人提起了一起隐私诉讼，指控该公司广泛部署的基于人工智能的摄像头属于未经授权的监控行为。
Flock also faces legal challenges, such as a privacy lawsuit in Virginia alleging that the widespread deployment of its AI-powered cameras constitutes warrantless surveillance.
随着人工智能数据中心的发展，Flock公司的摄像头已成为今年中期选举中的一个热点议题；众多候选人纷纷利用这一议题攻击对手，将对方与Flock公司的监控技术联系在一起。
Together with AI data centers, Flock cameras have emerged as a flashpoint in this year’s midterm elections, with candidates increasingly attacking their opponents by tying them to the technology.