China has stepped up surveillance, known as “ emotion recognition technology, ” to keep tabs on human feelings – and help them with law enforcement, reports said.
Emotion recognition technology tracks traits such as facial muscle movements, voice tones and body movements to infer a person’s feelings, the state-run Global Times reported.
“Emotion recognition is definitely the direction of humanity’s future technological development,” said Ma Qingguo, head of the Academy of Neuroeconomics and Neuromanagement at Ningbo University.
Some Chinese experts claim that the new technology is up to 95 percent accurate at detecting people’s emotions.
The advanced tool is increasingly being used in a variety of fields, including health, anti-terrorism and urban security, sources told the outlet.
For example, the artificial intelligence system can track occupants of cars passing a busy intersection, state media reported.
Security officers could then stop a vehicle in which a passenger appears nervous to search the vehicle for drugs, the report said.
Chen Wei – general manager at Taigusys, a company specializing in the technology – said that tool also has the ability to predict dangerous behavior in inmates, problem students in schools and elderly people with dementia in nursing homes, the Guardian reported.
“Ordinary people here in China are not happy with this technology, but they have no choice,” Chen told the outlet.
“If the police say there should be cameras in a community, people will just have to live with them. There is always that demand and we are here to fulfill it. “
Chen said Taigusys’ systems have already been installed in about 300 prisons, detention centers and prisons across the country, with 60,000 cameras connected.
He said only the existence of the systems has an impact on prisoners’ behavior.
“Because they know what the system is doing, they will not knowingly try to break certain rules,” he said.