Redazione RHC : 6 November 2025 22:26
In Beijing, in a banquet hall of a luxury hotel, police officers from across the country attended a conference dedicated to the application of artificial intelligence to public safety . The event opened with a welcome video featuring animated robots battling in space, while models of robot dogs were displayed outside the hall.
During subsequent sessions, representatives from technology companies and government researchers illustrated how new technologies can be used to strengthen national surveillance. Among the solutions presented were voice recognition systems, robots capable of identifying suspicious behavior, and personal data analysis platforms.
A technology company executive said his company is working with police in ethnic minority areas to install software capable of interpreting over 200 minority dialects and languages, aimed at ensuring national security. A researcher at the Ministry of Public Security explained that robots can be trained to detect protest symbols, reducing the need for physical patrols.
Other presentations illustrated the use of big data to analyze an individual’s lifestyle, social relationships, and even mental state, using data from medical records, online purchases, household devices, and neighborhood interactions.
It’s unclear how much of these technologies is already operational or how much companies have emphasized their potential to attract public contracts. However, the shared goal between institutions and the private sector seems clear: to build an increasingly pervasive and predictive population control infrastructure.
This prospect of widespread surveillance worries Washington, which cites China’s use of cyber tools for repressive purposes as the reason for its restrictions on chip and semiconductor exports to China.
Among the companies present at the conference were those on US watch lists, such as Huawei and Hikvision . Their representatives acknowledged the difficulties arising from the sanctions, but assured that they intend to replace foreign components with domestically developed alternatives.
China already has a widespread surveillance network comprising millions of cameras, online monitoring systems, and mandatory identification for many daily activities. With the recent government initiative “AI+,” the country intends to extend the use of artificial intelligence to sectors such as education, healthcare, and entertainment, consolidating its presence in every aspect of civil life.
At the conference, Gu Jianguo, a former official of the Ministry of Public Security, said that the security industry is ” among the most advanced sectors in the practical application of artificial intelligence,” calling for open recognition of this success.
One of the main strengths of Chinese tech companies lies in privileged access to huge amounts of data thanks to cooperation with the authorities.
A report by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that facial recognition companies engaged in government projects have developed significantly more commercial products than those without government contracts.
Fang Ce, director of iFlytek ‘s Smart Policing division, explained that data from police reports is a crucial resource for training voice models. According to Fang, the company’s system is capable of recognizing 74 foreign languages and 202 dialects, contributing to “national security” and the “preservation of minority languages.”
However, human rights organizations accuse iFlytek of collaborating with authorities in the surveillance of ethnic groups such as Uyghurs and Tibetans . The company denies the accusations, saying it respects users’ privacy and also engages in socially beneficial activities, such as searching for missing persons and preventing fraud.
In addition to iFlytek, other companies have presented technologies for monitoring rental properties, such as smart locks capable of recognizing unauthorized occupants or meters capable of reporting abnormal consumption.
Public procurement documents show that state-owned SDIC Intelligent has won contracts for systems that can analyse the daily movements and profiles of residents in some counties in southwestern China.
According to Zhao Sile, a researcher at the University of California, San Diego, the effectiveness of surveillance lies not so much in technological precision as in its reach. “When citizens know they could be observed,” he explained, “they tend to spontaneously modify their behavior. Technology doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective.”
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