China is at the forefront of the use of facial recognition technology, present in both fast food restaurants and universities, in the fight against crime and even in the dispensing of toilet paper in public toilets.

Its proponents claim that this technology makes life easier and safer, but its detractors see it as yet another way for the government to closely monitor the 1.4 billion Chinese.

In Shanghai and other major cities, facial recognition is seen even on the streets, with the aim of stopping those who break the rules of circulation. Thus, pedestrians who cross the street through places where it is not allowed are systematically photographed and their photo appears on a screen installed at the nearest intersection. If they do not want to be seen on this "shame screen", they have to pay a fine of 20 yuan (3 euros).

The Chinese population, ruled by the Communist Party, is one of the most watched in the world, in a country with about 176 million operational security cameras. People asked about this on a street in Shanghai do not seem particularly bothered by the novelty.





"I can accept. (...) It's a way to make the law respected, "says a 42-year-old hospital employee, who presents only with her last name, Wu. "But I think some people might say that they are violating their privacy, and they worry about how this information could be stored," he adds.

Police use this technology to find suspects. She was recently employed in the small town of Qingdao, which produces Tsingtao beer, where cameras at the entrance to a beer festival allowed 25 suspects to be arrested. All Chinese over the age of 16 must have a photo ID and address card, which means the authorities have a huge database.


A Chinese traffic cop explains to a girl about the facial recognition screen installed at a road junction in Shanghai. AFP PHOTO / CHANDAN KHANNA
China, experts say, is far ahead of the West on this issue, mainly because its laws on privacy are much less strict and because its citizens are accustomed to being photographed, taking their fingerprints and giving all kinds of information to the authorities.
- Smile to pay -
But this technology is also involved in all kinds of transactions. That goes from the "smile to pay" system employed in the KFC restaurant chain to other less traditional uses. In the bathrooms of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, toilet paper dispensers are equipped to prevent theft. If someone tries to use them several times, the machine recognizes him and stops giving him paper, politely remembering that he has already served.

One of Beijing's universities has installed this technology at the entrance of the dorms to ensure that only its students enter, "which allows us to better verify where the students meet," a senior official at the center told Xinhua.


Chinese traffic police stop a group of people cycling and offending traffic rules alongside the face recognition screen installed at a Shanghai intersection. AFP PHOTO / CHANDAN KHANNA
Banks have also begun equipping their ATMs with this technique to replace credit cards, and professionals in the tourism industry also see advantages in face recognition: China Southern Airlines has begun eliminating boarding passes.
In Shanghai, an official system makes it possible to detect people lost on the streets, mainly elderly people or people with cognitive disabilities, and take them to their families.

- 'Number one in artificial intelligence' -
This new breakthrough fits into a broader high technology development strategy. The Chinese government announced in July that it intends to make its country the number one in artificial intelligence by 2030, with a local market of 150 billion dollars.

This trend, according to Yue Lin, a law professor at the University of Shanghai, is driven mainly by Chinese technology companies such as Alibaba or Baidu. But it is still too early to assess the consequences this technique can have on privacy, Yue says. "The police authority has not changed, but it has undoubtedly gained more power," he says.

"This is not the case in China alone, the same thing happens all over the world. But perhaps the Chinese are good and Americans are terrible. "

© Agence France-Presse

In China, facial recognition is no longer science fiction



China is at the forefront of the use of facial recognition technology, present in both fast food restaurants and universities, in the fight against crime and even in the dispensing of toilet paper in public toilets.

Its proponents claim that this technology makes life easier and safer, but its detractors see it as yet another way for the government to closely monitor the 1.4 billion Chinese.

In Shanghai and other major cities, facial recognition is seen even on the streets, with the aim of stopping those who break the rules of circulation. Thus, pedestrians who cross the street through places where it is not allowed are systematically photographed and their photo appears on a screen installed at the nearest intersection. If they do not want to be seen on this "shame screen", they have to pay a fine of 20 yuan (3 euros).

The Chinese population, ruled by the Communist Party, is one of the most watched in the world, in a country with about 176 million operational security cameras. People asked about this on a street in Shanghai do not seem particularly bothered by the novelty.





"I can accept. (...) It's a way to make the law respected, "says a 42-year-old hospital employee, who presents only with her last name, Wu. "But I think some people might say that they are violating their privacy, and they worry about how this information could be stored," he adds.

Police use this technology to find suspects. She was recently employed in the small town of Qingdao, which produces Tsingtao beer, where cameras at the entrance to a beer festival allowed 25 suspects to be arrested. All Chinese over the age of 16 must have a photo ID and address card, which means the authorities have a huge database.


A Chinese traffic cop explains to a girl about the facial recognition screen installed at a road junction in Shanghai. AFP PHOTO / CHANDAN KHANNA
China, experts say, is far ahead of the West on this issue, mainly because its laws on privacy are much less strict and because its citizens are accustomed to being photographed, taking their fingerprints and giving all kinds of information to the authorities.
- Smile to pay -
But this technology is also involved in all kinds of transactions. That goes from the "smile to pay" system employed in the KFC restaurant chain to other less traditional uses. In the bathrooms of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, toilet paper dispensers are equipped to prevent theft. If someone tries to use them several times, the machine recognizes him and stops giving him paper, politely remembering that he has already served.

One of Beijing's universities has installed this technology at the entrance of the dorms to ensure that only its students enter, "which allows us to better verify where the students meet," a senior official at the center told Xinhua.


Chinese traffic police stop a group of people cycling and offending traffic rules alongside the face recognition screen installed at a Shanghai intersection. AFP PHOTO / CHANDAN KHANNA
Banks have also begun equipping their ATMs with this technique to replace credit cards, and professionals in the tourism industry also see advantages in face recognition: China Southern Airlines has begun eliminating boarding passes.
In Shanghai, an official system makes it possible to detect people lost on the streets, mainly elderly people or people with cognitive disabilities, and take them to their families.

- 'Number one in artificial intelligence' -
This new breakthrough fits into a broader high technology development strategy. The Chinese government announced in July that it intends to make its country the number one in artificial intelligence by 2030, with a local market of 150 billion dollars.

This trend, according to Yue Lin, a law professor at the University of Shanghai, is driven mainly by Chinese technology companies such as Alibaba or Baidu. But it is still too early to assess the consequences this technique can have on privacy, Yue says. "The police authority has not changed, but it has undoubtedly gained more power," he says.

"This is not the case in China alone, the same thing happens all over the world. But perhaps the Chinese are good and Americans are terrible. "

© Agence France-Presse

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