Surveillance, Security, and the Fourth Amendment: AI and the Expanding Stateof Exception

Abstract

The proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in surveillance and predictive policing have redefined the contours of the Fourth Amendment and the constitutional right to privacy. The fusion of algorithmic governance with state security rationales has enabled what Giorgio Agamben termed the “state of exception”—a legal vacuum wherein extraordinary powers are normalized under technological pretexts. This article examines how AI-driven surveillance transforms traditional notions of “search,” “seizure,” and “reasonableness,” eroding the constitutional safeguards envisioned by the framers. By analyzing algorithmic immutability—the tendency of AI to ossify social classifications—it argues that automated systems generate new discriminatory structures that transcend traditional protected classes. Through comparative insights from the United States and the European Union, this paper explores the evolving jurisprudence of digital surveillance, emphasizing the tension between technological innovation and constitutional accountability. Ultimately, it proposes doctrinal and policy reforms to restore due process, equal protection, and human dignity within algorithmic systems of control.