Councilmember, residents push back on AI 'blight scores' given to homes

Dallas has begun using AI-enabled cameras mounted on trash trucks to photograph houses and assign a proprietary “blight score,” and city records show roughly 21,000 properties were scored in about four months. The system flags potential code violations and the city has sent about 1,800 “courtesy notices” so far, with an original goal of roughly 5,200 notices per year. The scoring data mapped by reporters shows concentrations of flagged properties in Southern Dallas and other lower-income ZIP codes, prompting residents to fear increased citations, fines and displacement amid gentrification. More than 1,500 social-media comments questioned who defines blight and whether the program functions as an inadvertent tax on the poor. Dallas Councilmember Chad West proposed removing funding from the three-year, $2.5 million camera contract and has called for broader public review; he agreed to table the amendment after the city manager promised a December hearing.

City officials and the camera operator, City Detect, say humans review images, faces and license plates are blurred, and the scores are used internally to prioritize inspections rather than automatically issue penalties. The vendor says the system is not linked to law enforcement and was intended to help target problems like illegal dumping. Opponents remain skeptical about data access, enforcement discretion and disproportionate impacts on financially vulnerable homeowners, and officials have committed to further public scrutiny before expanding the program.