After weeks of strict confinement, the people of Shanghai have resumed their lives. Nevertheless, the municipality has released significant financial resources to set up “digital sentinels” which combine facial recognition and AI in order to control the population.
Deployment as part of the “zero Covid” strategy
In early 2022, we mentioned the psychosis that reigns in Shanghai, the largest city in China, but also the most affected by the recent outbreak of Covid-19. However, it turns out that China still and always applies a “zero Covid” strategy while an overwhelming majority of countries have chosen to live with the virus. Unfortunately, this strategy involves strict containment in the event of an upsurge. After a confinement of two monthsthe longest since the start of the pandemic, life has largely resumed, as explained by the South China Morning Post in an article from June 3, 2022.
Today, taking transport involves showing proof of a negative test. However, not all public places have the human means to control the population. Thus, the municipality has put on the table no less than 7.5 billion dollars in order to deploy “digital sentinels”. These smart devices have the role, among other things, of controlling the temperature of the inhabitants, but also of checking vaccinations and other test results.
However, the number of these sentinels planned by the city amounts to two million for a city with approximately 25 million inhabitants. Moreover, this deployment represents a real experience which could seduce other cities in the country if successful.
Allow or deny access to public places
At the origin of these devices, we find SenseTime, the most important artificial intelligence (AI) company in China. We should also mention the participation of Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Zhejiang Dahua Technology, the two largest manufacturers of surveillance cameras in the country. Sentinels boosted with AI therefore have use of facial recognition. Not only will the latter be able to verify information concerning vaccination and tests, but they will also be able to trace the recent movements of the inhabitants.
On its official website, SenseTime company has listed the functions of sentinels: mask detection, temperature check, health code check, vaccination record check, nucleic acid test check and health check. ‘identify. In the event of failure to comply with these conditions, the individuals will be denied access to public places.
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