China already operates the
world's largest surveillance state with some 170 CCTV cameras at work,
but its line of sight is about to get a new angle thanks to new smart
eyewear that is being piloted by police officers.
The smart specs look a lot like Google Glass, but they are used for
identifying potential suspects. The device connects to a feed which taps
into China's state database to root out potential criminals using
facial recognition. Officers can identify suspects in a crowd by
snapping their photo and matching it to the database. Beyond a name,
officers are also supplied with the person's address, according to the BBC.
Chinese state media reports
that the technology has already facilitated the capture of seven
individuals, while 35 others using fake IDs are said to have been found.
The glasses have been deployed in Zhengzhou, the capital of central
province Henan, where it has been used to surveil those traveling by
plane and train, according to the Wall Street Journal.
With Chinese New Year, the world's largest human migration,
coming later this month, you'd imagine the glasses could be used to
surveil the hundreds of millions of people who travel the country, and
beyond, for the holiday period.
China's has been criticized in
many quarters for the way it uses its database, and facial recognition
tech, in relation to ethnic minorities. A system deployed in Xinjiang --
a province with a population of some 10 million 'Uighur' Muslims, is
reportedly designed to notify authorities when "target" individuals go
beyond their home or place of work, according to Bloomberg.
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