Sniffing out trouble: Customs dogs remain vital in the age of AI
From synthetic drugs to concealed cargo, trained dogs can detect what scanners may miss. At a WCO forum in Tashkent, experts showed how canine units and new technology are increasingly working side by side.
The World Customs Organisation's 7th Global Canine Forum in Tashkent highlighted the ongoing importance of customs dogs in the age of AI, despite advancements in artificial intelligence and advanced scanning systems. While AI can analyse images and data, identify patterns, and help customs officers decide which shipments warrant closer inspection, customs officials, dog handlers, and specialists argue that trained dogs remain indispensable due to their unique scent detection abilities.
Antonio Lo Parco, head of the WCO's Regional Office for Capacity Building for Europe, emphasized that dogs possess detection abilities "that AI cannot substitute," while Oliver Stolper, UN Office on Drugs and Crime's regional representative for Central Asia, noted that AI can help customs services identify containers requiring additional scrutiny and analyse images for signs of illicit cargo.
However, Stolper and Yusupov, an officer at Uzbekistan's Agency for the Control of Narcotic Drugs and Firearms, reiterated that a dog cannot be replaced, as illicit drug markets continue to evolve, requiring specific training for canine units to detect synthetic narcotic substances.
Brief written by urgent.news from Euronews's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
