(Image source: Pixabay/gregden)
In 2002, the film Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, made waves. The dystopian sci-fi thriller describes a mid-century future in which the police are at least supposedly able to catch criminals before they even commit their crime. In the film are for the so-called Precogs
responsible, who can see into the future with their supernatural powers.
The end of privacy
App identifies millions of people in seconds
Big data makes it possible
Of course, such mutations have nothing to do with reality. Today we have completely different means of looking into the future – keyword: big data. And a report from New York Times according to China, nothing less than making a Minority Report-style pre-crime department a reality.
Accordingly, the giant empire in the Far East no longer wants its citizens to be monitored closely, as has been the case up to now. China apparently wants to incorporate data on ethnicity, history of mental illness, nationality, and much more to identify potential dangers at an early stage. Specifically it says:
The latest generation of technology sifts through the vast amounts of data collected about daily activities [Anmk. d. R.: der Bürger] collected to find patterns and deviations, and promises to predict crimes or protests before they happen.
New York Times
facial recognition company
3 billion images collected – and hacked
Dystopian scenario
For example, it is conceivable that the police will receive an automated alarm, as soon as a mentally ill person approaches a school. Or a warning is issued if a fraud victim travels to Beijing to submit a petition there, for example. Basically, the spectrum ranges from oppressive surveillance to systematic discrimination, according to the New York Times.
How certain is it that such a surveillance system will be introduced in China? The information is still unconfirmed, but the newspaper has procurement documents and other documents that at least suggest this very much.
how do you see it? Is such technology a curse or a blessing? Write it to us in the comments!
