Terrifying Chinese AI camera ‘tracks how much students concentrate in class’ – a terrifying vision of the future
Students in China reportedly work under the watchful eye of an artificial intelligence camera that measures their concentration.
Terrifying footage is said to show how the students’ every move is meticulously tracked by the high-tech surveillance systems.
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Snoop cameras are said to be installed in classrooms to test school children’s attention and monitor their movements.
A whimsical clip showed the system displaying data about each person and categorizing them into groups with colored banners.
Each color is believed to represent different movements, while the numbers flashing above the students’ heads constantly change to indicate the degree of movement.
The cameras are understood to be keeping an ever-evolving log of a child’s behavior in hopes of nipping distractions in the bud.
But it has also raised concerns about China’s Big Brother-like surveillance state, which now appears to be enticing kids to comply with regulations in the classroom.
Jennifer Zeng, a journalist who shares uncensored first-hand information from China, described the footage as “scary”.
Sharing the clip on Twitter, she tried to break down the intricate components of the AI cameras that were reportedly intimidating students.
The former government researcher-turned-whistle-blower wrote: “This is how Chinese students are being monitored in their classroom. Every movement, no matter how small, is captured by the surveillance camera.”
“The labels on their heads read: ‘head up, 0.89’, ‘head down, 0.88’, ‘stand up a different way, 0.90’, ‘lie hand on desk’, ‘head down and holding the desk, 0.71’.” , etc.
“The numbers are constantly changing to show the magnitude of the movements.
“It seems to me that different colors represent different movements. The green stands for “rising up of a different kind”. Looks like this person is the teacher.
“Red color for ‘lift head’, Pink color for head down, yellow for head on desk, orange color for head turn, blue color for head down and hold desk, etc.
But others said the data is just boring analytics collected from online platforms people use every day, such as Zoom and Moodle.
A Chinese high school announced that in 2018 it had equipped several classrooms with AI cameras to keep tabs on students and record attendance.
The Hangzhou No. 11 High School said the data they obtained then categorized the students into six behavioral categories related to their learning.
Vice director Zhang Guanchao stated, “We have a minimum score.
“If a student’s lesson score is lower, it means that student is unable to concentrate during class.”
The system then notifies the teacher — which is a threat of punishment that prompts students to “voluntarily change their behavior and teaching habits,” Guanchao claimed.
The system also reportedly tracked students’ emotions and facial expressions, ostensibly to ensure their well-being.
A similar concept aimed at teaching obedience to school children was introduced in 2019, with elementary school children wearing headgear that detects brain waves.
BrainCo’s head-mounted device. monitored attention span and shared the data with both teachers and parents.
But after videos of the gadget were shared online, concerns about privacy issues were raised and they were quickly dismissed.
However, Teacher claimed that they supported “real-time feedback on student engagement” and improved focus in class.
One teacher claimed his students were “louder than usual” when answering questions and said the hat had “successfully improved efficiency during class.”
Students were less impressed, with some saying it “felt like they were being controlled” when wearing the bizarre device.
AI technology is expected to be at the forefront of classroom and education in the future.
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