How China is building an all-seeing surveillance state

Summary

China is developing a vast video surveillance network, the Sharp Eyes project, aiming to extend its reach from cities to villages. Using AI, big data, and deep learning, the system analyzes video footage to track individuals, identify patterns, and predict crime. Cameras monitor road junctions, identify cars and pedestrians, and can track suspects in crowds. Some cameras even detect driver fatigue. While the technology is advancing, concerns arise about its potential misuse against ethnic minorities, dissidents, and activists. However, young tech professionals involved in the project seem indifferent to these ethical concerns.

Takeaways

• 📹 China's 'Sharp Eyes' project aims to build a comprehensive video surveillance network extending from cities into villages and residential compounds.
• 🧠 The project leverages artificial intelligence, big data, and deep learning to analyze vast amounts of video footage.
• 🔍 Surveillance tech aims to track people’s movements, identify their activities, and even predict crimes.
• 🚦 Cameras are used at road junctions to identify vehicles, read number plates, and classify pedestrians based on age, gender, clothing, and hairstyles.
• 🔥 Crowd analysis software can generate heat maps to detect crowd formations and help prevent overcrowding.
• 👀 Facial recognition technology compares faces in a crowd against a national database to identify suspects for potential police action.
• 🚚 Specialized cameras monitor truck drivers’ facial expressions and activities to assess fatigue levels, alerting companies if drivers are too tired to operate vehicles.
• 🏙️ The 'Sharp Eyes' project has already been implemented in over 50 cities, though technology currently lags behind the vision.
• ⚠️ There are concerns the system might be used for ethnic profiling, suppressing dissidents, and targeting activists.
• 💻 Tech workers in Chinese startups seem largely unaware or indifferent to these concerns about potential misuse of surveillance technology.

Q & A

What is the goal of China's Sharp Eyes project?

The goal of China's Sharp Eyes project is to create an extensive video surveillance network that integrates surveillance from cities into rural areas, and from roads into residential compounds. It aims to monitor individuals using AI, big data, and deep learning to analyze the gathered video data for tracking suspects and preventing crime.

How does the Sharp Eyes project plan to track individuals?

The Sharp Eyes project uses artificial intelligence, big data, and deep learning to monitor individuals by analyzing video footage. Cameras are set up to identify people and vehicles, classify them by age, gender, clothing, and hairstyles, and track their movements through public spaces.

What are some specific features of the surveillance technology showcased in the project?

Some specific features include the ability to identify cars and read license plates, classify pedestrians by attributes like age and clothing, create heat maps of crowd densities, track individuals within crowds, and match faces to national databases of suspects.

What applications were demonstrated in the tech companies visited?

Demonstrated applications included tracking individuals at road junctions, analyzing crowd densities, using facial recognition to identify wanted individuals, and monitoring truck drivers for signs of tiredness based on their facial expressions and behavior.

How can the surveillance system detect and prevent driver fatigue?

The system monitors a truck driver's facial expressions and actions. If the software detects signs of tiredness above a certain threshold, the driver's company is alerted to contact the driver and advise them to take a break.

How widespread is the Sharp Eyes project in China?

As of the time of the report, the Sharp Eyes project has already been rolled out in over 50 cities across China.

What are the concerns raised about the use of this surveillance technology?

Concerns have been raised that the surveillance technology could be used to unfairly target ethnic minorities, dissidents, and activists, potentially leading to government crackdowns on these groups.

How effective is the technology in its current form?

While the technology does not yet fully meet its ambitious goals, facial recognition and related surveillance technologies are improving rapidly, making them increasingly effective.

What role does facial recognition play in the Sharp Eyes project?

Facial recognition plays a key role in identifying individuals from video footage. The system compares faces in the crowd to national databases of suspects and wanted individuals, allowing authorities to take action if a match is found.

How did the young staff at the tech startup respond to concerns about surveillance and privacy issues?

The young elite staff at the tech startup appeared to be largely unaware or indifferent to the potential concerns about the system being used to target minorities or suppress dissidents.