China's new AI police station won't have humans

On November 7, China announced plans to open an unmanned police station powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in Wuhan, one of its capital cities. The AI police station will likely focus on vehicle- and driver-related issues, which makes it more analogous to an American Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) than a precinct (sorry, Robocop), but the decision to build it is still right inline with China's plans to be a world leader in AI by 2030. According to a report from the Chinese financial paper Caijing Neican, the futuristic station will offer simulated driver examinations and provide registration services. Cutting-edge facial-recognition technology developed by Tencent will identify citizens within the station. The idea is that this will eliminate the need for users to sit at stations for long periods of time, sign up for accounts, or download apps -- the AI will access all pertinent information as soon as it sees the person's face.