Chinese researchers claim they have built and tested artificial intelligence capable of reading minds
By Alex Blair
04 July 2022
A new report has claimed the Chinese government is now implementing cutting edge artificial intelligence to monitor the minds of dozens of Communist party officials.
Researchers in China claimed to have developed software that can acutely analyse facial expressions and brain waves to monitor if subjects were attentive to “thought and political education”.
China’s stringent police state has been radically upscaled over the past decade, using big data, machine learning, face recognition technology and artificial intelligence to build what many have labelled the world’s most complex digital dictatorship.
According to the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Centre, the high-tech development would be used to “further solidify their confidence and determination to be grateful to the party, listen to the party and follow the party”.
In a short clip, a subject was seen looking at screen at a kiosk, scrolling through exercises promoting party policy. According to researchers, the technology in the kiosk was able to note the researcher’s expressions and pinpoint their reaction to particular pieces of content.
The institute said it has encouraged 43 party members on the research team to take party lessons while being monitored by the new software.
The video report was published on July 1 but has since vanished.
“On one hand, it can judge how party members have accepted thought and political education,” the article said. “On the other hand, it will provide real data for thought and political education so it can be improved and enriched.”
President Xi, secretary of the Communist Party and leader of the nation of 1.4 billion, has demanded absolute loyalty to the party it and has previously declared “thought and political education” is an essential part of the government’s doctrine.
Chinese state-backed publication Study Times was reporting about the development of similar aritficial intelligence back in 2019, claiming algorithms could be used to “gauge the thought condition of party members” and make sure content can “go into the head and the heart of party members”.
“It will truly enhance a party member’s political quality and ideological thought,” the publication wrote at the time.
