Creepy Chinese government start-up expands plans to create powerful facial recognition technology

A creepy surveillance start-up backed by the Chinese government is expanding its artificial intelligence-powered face-reading operations. Beijing firm Megvii has announced it is shifting its powerful Face facial recognition technology beyond China after securing a distributor in Thailand. Megvii's world-leading Face technology uses AI to identify people by their facial features, allowing police to spy on'anyone, anywhere' without them knowing. The software has already been used by Chinese police departments to arrest more than 3,000 fugitives by instantly scanning crowds of thousands in busy cities. The company says its software has many potential uses beyond law enforcement, including in financial services, retail, and identity verification.