Chinese Jaywalkers Targeted with Face Recognition, State to Fine Them via SMS

Luckily, China has in place (or at least will soon have) the most Orwellian surveillance system the world has ever seen. Starting with face-recognition technology and ending with social scoring, there will be nothing the government won’t know about the country's residents.

All that may be viewed as a bad thing, and for good reason. But something useful might come of this, even if at first look it seems a measure to say the least invasive.

According to South China Morning Post, face recognition tech in the city of Shenzen will be used to identify, advertise and fine jaywalkers across the metropolis.

Using cameras installed at intersections, a system provided by AI company Intellifusion will snap a photo of the perpetrator. Once that’s done, the photo will be sent to large LED screens, mounted in the vicinity, so that all passer-by can see the culprit.

But that’s not all. Shaming an individual would not be the only penalty. The system would cross-reference the images with the existing databases to identify the guilty party, down to their phone number.

Once that’s done, offenders would receive a text message, being notified that they have been caught doing something wrong. Accompanying the message would be the fine as stated by the law for the committed offense.

“Jaywalking has always been an issue in China and can hardly be resolved just by imposing fines or taking photos of the offenders,” said according to the source Wang Jun, Intellifusion’s marketing head.

“But a combination of technology and psychology can greatly reduce instances of jaywalking and will prevent repeat offenses,”

The idea in itself is not half bad and it might have the desired effects, reducing the number of traffic violations by pedestrians. But given China’s track record of privacy issues, those arguing the system is just another method of control and data gathering might have a point as well.

The timeframe for the implementation of the system has not been announced. Intellifusion is currently working with Chinese social media giants WeChat and Sina Weibo to create the necessary technology for the messaging system.