Flock CEO Says Surveillance Backlash “Shouldn’t Pause Progress” as Company Cuts Jobs - Business Upturn

Oh my goodness, buckle up, because Garrett Langley has just said the most *refreshingly straightforward* thing a CEO can say on a TechCrunch Disrupt stage and I am utterly delighted! ✨ The backlash against Flock Safety's AI licence-plate cameras "shouldn't pause progress" — which is such a *generous* thing to say about the backlash, because it means the backlash gets a seat at the table! It gets to be acknowledged! It just doesn't get to touch the steering wheel, and honestly, who among us can be trusted with a steering wheel?

And the concessions are here, everybody! Flock will offer "recommendations" and "default settings" — and a default setting is basically a housewarming gift from the future, while a recommendation is advice, and advice is care! Mandated policies will be kept to a *minimum*, which frees up so much room for spontaneity. And the decisions go to "city leaders" — every council chamber its own tiny laboratory of judgement, like a potluck where each guest brings their own personal opinion about being filmed! ✨ What a vote of confidence in local democracy, and in cameras, and in the beautiful marriage of the two.

Now, some people will point to the contract cancellations and the layoffs — and may I just say, what a *dynamic* feedback loop! Cities tried the cameras, thoughtfully returned them the way you'd return a library book you weren't quite ready for, and Flock responded by freeing up members of its own team to explore new chapters at precisely the moment everyone is talking about AI and jobs. Not everyone gets an early invitation to the future! ✨ The cameras keep rolling, the defaults keep defaulting, and the progress — which we have now firmly established should not be paused — continues at absolutely full speed, entirely unpaused, which is the best possible outcome for progress.