Peking. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology that detects “undesirable” behavior and recognizes faces from afar takes center stage at the fair Security China, in which hundreds of companies participate, many in the crosshairs of the United States.
The three-day fair brought together employees of the Asian nation’s security industry and some foreign clients, mainly from Russia and the Middle East. It is presented as a showcase of the future of surveillance technologies and is supported by the Chinese authorities.
China is one of the most closely watched societies in the world, with vast amounts of closed-circuit video cameras around cities and facial recognition technology widely used for law enforcement and as a tool of political repression.
At the fair, the AI software company SenseTime exhibited cameras that can detect some “undesirable” behaviors, such as smoking, fighting or not wearing a face mask.
Identity theft
Other cameras, designed to be placed at gates or checkpoints, are capable of identifying identity theft attempts to open the gate, for example, by showing a photo or wearing a mask that simulates another person’s face.
SenseTime was blacklisted by the United States for trade, accused of being part of China’s “military-industrial complex” because its technology would be used in the western region of Xinjiang, where an estimated one million Uyghur minority people and some Muslim women have been detained since 2017.
Technology from another company, Zohetec, makes it possible to recognize faces from 150 meters away.
Representatives of Tiandy, another Chinese company accused of being related to the repression in Xinjiang, showed Afp some of its products for a “smart city”, such as cameras that can identify cars at a great distance or even at night, registration plates and the driver’s face. The system is already in use in Beijing and Tianjin, according to the company.
These products can also identify pedestrians jaywalking and project their face onto a screen to “sham” them.
#cameras #unveiled #China #fair