Technology Series: (Part Eighteen): 18: Final visit to China: Verge story by reporter Shannon Liao presents a world in which facial facial recognition systems are used to catch all types of criminals, from thieves to jaywalkers, in real time - and not all of them, supposedly caught on camera, have been there..."This week, one facial recognition camera publicly shamed a famous business woman for jaywalking after its systems caught her face crossing an intersection. The problem? She was never physically there."

PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "The face of Dong Mingzhu, a president of China’s top air-conditioning company, flashed on a large screen displayed to the public listing nearby jaywalkers caught by cameras. A line of text captioned her photo, saying she had broken the law. It also listed part of her government ID number and her name, but misidentified her surname as “Ju.” But what the camera actually saw was an ad featuring Dong’s face on the side of a bus. Local police soon admitted in a statement on microblogging site Weibo that identifying Dong as a jaywalker was an error made by the facial recognition system, and claimed that the problem had now been fixed by an upgrade."

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 PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Chinese traffic police have increasingly relied on facial recognition systems to catch those who violate the rules. The systems have come to major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, and have captured tens of thousands of jaywalkers since installation. Officials have also talked to WeChat and Weibo about potentially fining offenders via text messages. While the systems are often a talking point for officials discussing their accomplishments and work to bring down crime, but as this incident proves, the systems still aren’t infallible."

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STORY:  (A bit out-dated but deserving of a place in this series): "Chinese facial recognition system mistakes a face on a bus for a jaywalker," by reporter Shannon Liao, published  by The Verge on November 22, 2018. (Shannon Liao is a tech and culture reporter for The Verge. She writes general tech news, stories about China, smart homes, and the intersections between internet culture, gaming, and sometimes, politics.)...The Verge is an American technology news and media network operated by Vox Media. 

GIST: "China’s facial recognition systems are used to catch all types of criminals, from thieves to jaywalkers, in real time. This week, one facial recognition camera publicly shamed a famous business woman for jaywalking after its systems caught her face crossing an intersection. The problem? She was never physically there. As first reported by Abacus, it all took place in the Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai. The face of Dong Mingzhu, a president of China’s top air-conditioning company, flashed on a large screen displayed to the public listing nearby jaywalkers caught by cameras. A line of text captioned her photo, saying she had broken the law. It also listed part of her government ID number and her name, but misidentified her surname as “Ju.” But what the camera actually saw was an ad featuring Dong’s face on the side of a bus. Local police soon admitted in a statement on microblogging site Weibo that identifying Dong as a jaywalker was an error made by the facial recognition system, and claimed that the problem had now been fixed by an upgrade. Dong Mingzhu made first place on the Forbes list of the top 100 outstanding businesswomen in China last year and has made headlines for having never taken a day off in 26 years, at the cost of her personal life. A photo of the display screen has gone viral on Weibo, as people pointed out that despite the hype surrounding facial recognition, it turned out the system could still make mistakes. “Be careful of being sued by Dong Mingzhu,” one netizen mocked. Chinese traffic police have increasingly relied on facial recognition systems to catch those who violate the rules. The systems have come to major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, and have captured tens of thousands of jaywalkers since installation. Officials have also talked to WeChat and Weibo about potentially fining offenders via text messages. While the systems are often a talking point for officials discussing their accomplishments and work to bring down crime, but as this incident proves, the systems still aren’t infallible."

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/22/18107885/china-facial-recognition-mistaken-jaywalker

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;