Researchers in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui claim to have developed a device that uses facial scans to determine loyalty to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
This article was written by Brendan Taylor and originally published by Insider Paper.
According to a short video posted on the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center’s Weibo account on June 30, the project was an example of “artificial intelligence empowering party-building,” according to RFA.
The Weibo post was later removed, but a text summary of the video, which was created to commemorate the CCP’s July 1 anniversary, was still available on the Internet Archive on Monday.
“Guaranteeing the quality of party-member activities is turning into a problem in need of coordination,” the text said.
“This equipment is a kind of smart ideology, using AI technology to extract and integrate facial expressions, EEG readings and skin conductivity, making it possible to ascertain the levels of concentration, recognition and mastery of ideological and political education so as to better understand its effectiveness.
“It can provide real data for organizers of ideological and political education, so they can keep improving their methods of education and enrich content,” it added.
According to the company, the device uses “emotionally intelligent computing,” among other methods, to determine how much subjects “feel grateful to the CCP, do as it tells them, and follow its lead.”
According to RFA, a researcher in white walks into a room and sits in front of a screen to take a test, before receiving a test score and analysis onscreen, as reported by Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper.
Some comments slammed the idea as “high-tech brainwashing,” while others cited George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, claiming that “Big Brother” would be watching them.
Song Da’an, an Anhui-based sociologist, stated that the post was removed due to its political sensitivity.
“Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center has been using biotechnology to measure the loyalty of party members and cadres,” Song said.
“This shows that the CCP is becoming more and more totalitarian.”
