Shanghai police turn to facial recognition software to catch misbehaving cyclists
Comment of the Day

September 22 2017

Commentary by Eoin Treacy

Shanghai police turn to facial recognition software to catch misbehaving cyclists

This article from the South China Morning Post may be of interest subscribers. Here is a section: 

On the same day, another e-bike user who had previously been caught twice driving in the opposite bike lane was fined 100 yuan for doing so a third time.

If traffic law breakers do not accept the charges, police will publicly broadcast details of their offence on the surrounding advertising billboards until the culprit hands themselves in.

Shanghai traffic police said that following the success of the pilot, more “electronic police” surveillance units will be set up at major traffic intersections across the city.

Eoin Treacy's view

While in China this summer I was amazed at the improvement in customer service that has come about as a result of the online review system available via many different social media services. The fear of receiving negative reviews has literally changed behaviour beyond recognition in service establishments. 

It is looking increasingly likely that the Chinese administration wishes to take this a step further by creating a social credit score which will encourage people to abide by the laws and social norms of the country. Facial recognition and big data are a big part of that initiative which is why companies like Baidu are investing so heavily in that sector.

The share broke out of a multi-year range in July and continues to extend the advance. 

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