Ring’s AI-powered Search Party won’t stop at finding lost dogs, leaked email shows

A leaked internal email obtained by 404 Media shows that Ring has bigger plans for its AI-powered neighborhood search capability than just looking for lost dogs. The outlet reports the email, sent last October by founder Jamie Siminoff to all Ring employees, says that with Search Party, “You can now see a future where we are able to zero out crime in neighborhoods.”

Ring, the Amazon-owned home security company, has come under intense criticism in recent weeks following a Super Bowl commercial for its Search Party feature that showed Ring cameras surveilling a neighborhood for lost dogs.

The ad, which details how AI can be used to search through footage from Ring’s network of cameras, sparked concerns that it could be used as a broader surveillance tool.

In response to earlier questions from The Verge, Ring maintained that Search Party is a purpose-built tool that is not currently capable of searching for people. Additionally, the company said that sharing any footage from Ring cameras is at the camera owner’s discretion, except in response to legal requests.

The email, which Ring confirmed to The Verge was written by Siminoff, was sent following the launch of Search Party. Siminoff wrote:

“This is by far the most innovative that we have launched in the history of Ring. And it is not only the quantity, but quality. I believe that the foundation we created with Search Party, first for finding dogs, will end up becoming one of the most important pieces of tech and innovation to truly unlock the impact of our mission.