, Dec. 8 -- Police in Edmonton, Canada, have begun testing artificial intelligence-enabled body cameras capable of recognizing about 7,000 people on a "high-risk" watch list - a trial that could signal a major shift toward adopting facial recognition technology long deemed too invasive for law enforcement in North America.

The program marks a sharp turn from 2019, when Axon Enterprise, Inc., the top body-camera manufacturer, backed away from facial recognition amid serious ethical concerns. Now, the new pilot - launched last week - is drawing intense scrutiny well beyond Edmonton, the northernmost city in North America with over a million residents.

Barry Friedman, the former chair of Axon's AI ethics board who once helped block the tec...