The Security China exhibition, which is attended by hundreds of companies, focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) technology that detects “undesirable” behavior and performs long-distance facial recognition. The three-day event brings together security industry professionals in China and some foreign customers, 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 known to be one of the most heavily surveilled societies in the world, with a large number of closed-circuit cameras in its cities and extensive use of facial recognition technology for both law enforcement and political repression.
At the show, AI company SenseTime presented cameras capable of detecting “undesirable” behaviors such as smoking, fighting, or not wearing a mask. Other cameras, designed for use at gates or checkpoints, can identify attempts at identity theft, such as showing a photo or using a mask to simulate another person’s face.
Notably, SenseTime has been blacklisted from US trade, accused of being part of China’s “military-industrial complex” due to the alleged use of its technology in the western region of Xinjiang, where it is estimated that more than one million people from the Uyghur and other Muslim minorities have been detained since 2017.
On the other hand, the company Zohetec exhibited a technology that can recognize faces at a distance of 150 meters. Tiandy, another Chinese company related to the crackdown in Xinjiang, presented products for a “smart city,” such as cameras capable of identifying cars, license plates, and drivers’ faces from a long distance and even at night. This system is already in use in Beijing and Tianjin, according to the company.
In addition, Tiandy’s devices can identify pedestrians crossing the street improperly and display their faces on a screen to “shame” them.