In China, facial recognition has become a new popular tech subject to debate about over the last few years. Facial recognition is used all around the country, from its streets, banks, airlines and even public restrooms are using this new technology to confirm people’s identities (Borak, 2021). Though it has been used extensively by the private sector within the country, it is the police and security state that have embraced this novel technology with the most zeal (Borak, 2021). Supporters of facial recognition around the world frequently claim that the monitoring technology should only be used to combat the most dangerous crimes such as violent crimes or terrorist attacks (Dou, 2021). While such technology is still used around the world for minor offences such as shoplifting, its use still seems mild in comparison to how extensively it is being used in China.

With a massive network of cameras positioned all throughout the nation, China’s facial recognition system records almost every single resident there. Such technology could be innocuous and helpful, but it can also be manipulated to enable a crackdown on behaviors that the typical person might not even consider illegal. This is illustrated by China’s active development and usage of facial recognition. Chinese authorities have even gone to the extent of shaming people for wearing their pajamas in public by using facial recognition technology and labelling it uncivilized conduct (Qin, 2020). These infractions are penalized on purpose and the Chinese government can influence over a billion people towards what they consider appropriate behavior whether it be the way you dress or how you cross the street, by threatening them with public humiliation.

The idea of using technology and psychology to influence people’s behavior is known as behavioral engineering (Berndt, 2015), and it is something we observe every day. However, there is a significant distinction between the application of behavioral engineering in the rest of the world and China’s use of face recognition. For example, in the US, behavioral engineering is possible by gathering data on individuals and presenting or removing material to them in accordance with projected personality traits (Hinds et al., 2020). This was seen in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. While this type of behavioral engineering is more about pushing products or increasing profits, China’s is more about controlling its population through fear (Mozur, 2019). Thus, it is very important for the rest of the world to learn from the backlash that such technology has faced in China before it is widely adopted, and it is crucial to understand how this technology can be improved to safely provide its benefits.

Bibliography

Berndt, C. (2015). Behavioural economics, experimentalism and the marketization of development. Economy and Society, 44(4), 567–591. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2015.1043794

Borak, M. (2021, January 26). Chinese people are concerned about use of facial recognition, survey shows. South China Morning Post. Retrieved from https://www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/3119281/facial-recognition-used-china-everything-refuse-collection-toilet

Dou, E. (2021, July 30). China built the world’s largest facial recognition system. now, it’s getting camera-shy. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/facial-recognition-china-tech-data/2021/07/30/404c2e96-f049-11eb-81b2-9b7061a582d8_story.html

Hinds, J., Williams, E. J., & Joinson, A. N. (2020). “it wouldn’t happen to me”: Privacy concerns and perspectives following the Cambridge analytica scandal. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 143, 102498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2020.102498

Mozur, P. (2019, April 14). One month, 500,000 face scans: How China is using A.I. to profile a minority. The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/14/technology/china-surveillance-artificial-intelligence-racial-profiling.html

Qin, A. (2020, January 21). Chinese city uses facial recognition to shame pajama wearers. The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/business/china-pajamas-facial-recognition.html

5/5 (1) Brain-Computer Interface technologies, also known as BCIs, are redefining neuro-science research in an effort to radically alter how humans interact with each other as well as computers in the future (Vaidyanathan, 2022). Elon Musk’s Neuralink, the Stentrode device by Synchon as well as Connexus by Paradromics are examples of emerging technologies that are leading research and development within this field. Each of these technologies were developed to help patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease which impair memory and mobility, and to help such patients have a better quality of life (Belkacem et al., 2020). In the last few years, neuroscientists have had great success using BCIs to enhance living conditions of patients through several clinical trials (Belkacem et al., 2020).

It is important to note however, that these implants currently only connect the brain to the computer, and not the other way around. People are naturally anxious when they get to learn about human-machine connections, but the current state of BCI technologies only allows the brain to act as a remote control, rather than allowing the computer to upload instructions to the brain. There is no need to be worried about BCIs influencing a user’s brain activity at this time since the technology has not evolved to that stage yet. However, industry pioneers like Musk view a rise in BCI technologies as a transformative breakthrough for reasons that go beyond simply medical ones (Tran, 2022). A question then arises, when do we go from simply using BCIs for therapy to allowing them to upload commands to our brain as a performance enhancer?

It is utterly crucial for us to continue to be wary of technology that takes away our freedom to make our own decisions. Despite the numerous internet privacy rules that have been implemented, we are aware that a few bad actors can still choose to acquire and sell our data without our permission. Currently, neither Neuralink, Synchon or Connexus allow for computer control of our brain (Mew, 2022), but when they do would we be willing to let a computer access our innermost thoughts? Such questions need to be discussed and answered before this progress is made accessible to the general public. Although BCIs are still in their development stages, they have the potential to drastically decrease or even do away with the need for invasive brain surgery (Mudgal et al., 2020). We should definitely not be naive to the advantages of such a breakthrough; however, it is also important that individuals feel comfortable about raising their opinion on the ethical issues with these types of technologies.

Bibliography

Belkacem, A.N. et al. (2020) “Brain computer interfaces for improving the quality of life of older adults and elderly patients,” Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00692.

Mew, A. (2022) The future is here: There’s now a brain implant that will turn your thoughts into texts, Evie Magazine. Available at: https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/the-future-is-here-brain-implant-turn-your-thoughts-into-texts.

Mudgal, S.K. et al. (2020) “Brain Computer Interface Advancement in Neurosciences: Applications and Issues,” Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery, 20, p. 100694. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inat.2020.100694.

Tran, T.H. (2022) Scientists Express concern at Elon Musk’s Neuralink Brain Chip, Futurism. Futurism. Available at: https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-horror-elon-musks-neuralink.
Vaidyanathan, V. (2022) What is a brain computer interface?, Science ABC. Available at: https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/what-is-a-brain-computer-interface.html.

Vaidyanathan, V. (2022) What is a brain computer interface?, Science ABC. Available at: https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/what-is-a-brain-computer-interface.html.