Wow there are microphones used to detect gunshots in Chicago? I remember seeing such technology in a relatively obscure cyberpunk comic book when I was a kid, but I never thought this would be legal.
There are LED street lights in San Diego California that do just that. They have cameras and microphones. The microphones are used for Machine Learning of what people say. [1] There are a handful of other cities deploying these. It is a clever way to deploy CCTV much like what the UK has but without drawing much attention to it.
Do the microphones record conversations too? Can the government spy on its own citizens? I guess some secret court ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Foreign_Intell... ) allowed it?