France reveals hidden swimming pools with artificial intelligence, and imposes taxes on them

Using an AI-powered computer vision system developed by a French IT company capgeminithe French tax office (often called “Le Fisk”) identified 20,356 residential swimming pools that had not previously been declared WatchmanThis unlocked €10 million in additional tax revenue, which resulted in the government taxing other unauthorized architectural features such as extensions or verandas.

To find unannounced pools, Capgemini—with the help of Google’s cloud processing—automatically recognizes clusters in aerial photos (by searching for blue rectangles, for example) and compares the results to records in real estate and tax databases. If you find that the relevant address does not have a registered group, then the owner is violating the tax law. Program started last october On a limited basis, it covers only nine out of 96 urban districts. At first, the system mixed solar panels for swimming pools with an error rate of 30 percent, but Le Fisk says it has increased accuracy since then.

The French government taxes real estate based on its rental value, which increases when owners build additions or improvements such as swimming pools. For example, a 30-square-meter swimming pool results in about 200 euros in surcharges per year. Private pools have recently become more popular in France due to the recent heat wave, but they are also controversial due to their use of water during Historic drought.

French newspaper Le Parisien Reports That undocumented pool discovery project is somewhat controversial, but not for the reasons you might expect. Capgemini, a multinational IT company headquartered in Paris, has come under fire for using US technology giant Google as a cloud-processing subcontractor on the project. Google has a long run History of tax disputes with the French government. Controversies aside, Le Fisc plans to roll out the program across the country soon, resulting in an estimated €40 million plus tax revenue.