Dear MEL Topic Readers,
China’s all-seeing state
What’s next to the Great Firewall of China? Once the city is protected from outside threats, it’s the people inside the wall that need to be monitored. How?
Closed-Circuit Television, or CCTV, is used for video surveillance. Video monitoring has been used widely in security-sensitive places, such as laboratories, data centers, and research institutions. It is now used in many public places, such as airports, train stations, and busy street and squares around the world. It helps the security team find dangerous or suspicious things, activities or persons in the location.
However, use of video surveillance is controversial and debated about the balance between privacy and security especially when it is linked with personal identities by face recognition technology. It could tell who did or is doing what, where, and when. It seems effective and preventive up to certain extent, except for those who worry about being monitored.
But there is very little room to debate about such privacy concerns with authorities in China. They’ve installed and activated 170 million CCTV cameras around the country and working on adding 400 million more! It’ll certainly create a new industry.
It sounds like nuclear power. When it is used to generate electricity, it provides the most efficient and clean energy, though the waste needs to be disposed of properly. But when it is used for weapons, it is more destructive than anything else on earth.
Enjoy watching the video and think of any other pros and cons of AI-powered CCTVs.
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