Beijing, Jul 5 (IANS): Researchers in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui say they have developed a device that can determine loyalty to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) using facial scans.
A short video uploaded to the Weibo account of the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center on June 30 said the project was an example of "artificial intelligence empowering party-building", RFA reported.
The Weibo post was later deleted, but a text summary of the video, produced in honor of the CCP's July 1 anniversary, remained available on the Internet Archive on Monday.
"Guaranteeing the quality of party-member activities is turning into a problem in need of coordination," the text said.
"This equipment is a kind of smart ideology, using AI technology to extract and integrate facial expressions, EEG readings and skin conductivity, making it possible to ascertain the levels of concentration, recognition and mastery of ideological and political education so as to better understand its effectiveness.
"It can provide real data for organizers of ideological and political education, so they can keep improving their methods of education and enrich content," it added.
It said the device relies on "emotionally intelligent computing", among other methods, to measure to what extent subjects "feel grateful to the CCP, do as it tells them and follow its lead".
In the video, as reported by Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper, a researcher in white walks into a room and sits in front of a screen to take a test, before receiving a test score and analysis onscreen, RFA reported.
Before the post was deleted, some comments slammed the idea as "high-tech brainwashing", while others referenced George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, saying that "Big Brother" would be watching them.
Anhui-based sociologist Song Da'an said the post had been removed due to its political sensitivity.
"Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center has been using biotechnology to measure the loyalty of party members and cadres," Song said.
"This shows that the CCP is becoming more and more totalitarian."