AI surveillance is increasing at a rapid pace around the world. The East Asia/Pacific, Americas, and the Middle East/North Africa regions are robust adopters of these tools. Even liberal democracies in Europe have installed automated border controls, predictive policing, "safe cities", and facial recognition systems. China is the biggest supplier of these technologies which can be found in 63 countries. Huawei alone is responsible for providing AI surveillance technology to at least fifty countries and its leadership has strong ties with the Chinese government.

Chinese companies have exported artificial intelligence surveillance technology to more than 60 countries including Iran, Myanmar, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and others with dismal human rights records, according to a report by a U.S. think tank. With the technology involving facial recognition systems that the Communist Party uses to crack down on Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in China's far western Xinjiang region, the report calls Beijing a global driver of "authoritarian tech." The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace released the report amid concerns that authoritarian regimes would use the technology to boost their power and data could be sent back to China. "Technology linked to Chinese companies -- particularly Huawei, Hikvision, Dahua and ZTE -- supply AI surveillance technology in 63 countries, 36 of which have signed onto China's Belt and Road Initiative," it said. Critics say the BRI, President Xi Jinping's signature cross-border infrastructure project, is intended to draw countries in Asia, Africa and Europe deeper into Beijing's economic orbit.

A large share of countries around the world are now using Chinese AI surveillance technology, including facial recognition technology, in full or in part. This is according to a report by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Many countries are combining Chinese tech with U.S.-made surveillance tech, among them the U.S. and China themselves, but also India, Australia, Brazil and several European countries. Many countries in Latin America, South-East Asia, Africa and the Middle East are relying on Chinese technology alone after participating in the Belt and Road initiative, as is Japan, the only developed country to do so. China is not only a prominent user of AI-powered surveillance and facial recognition but also a big producer and exporter of the technology.

Confirming popular perception that we are being watched, a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said that more countries, led by China, are deploying artificial intelligence to monitor the whereabouts of its citizens. According to the report, at least 75 of 176 countries globally are actively using AI technologies for surveillance purposes. The report said 56 countries are using smart city/safe city platforms, 64 are using facial recognition systems, and 52 are using smart policing. China's strong technological base is an enabling factor in the growth of AI surveillance. The report noted that Technology linked to Chinese companies--particularly Huawei, Hikvision, Dahua, and ZTE--supply AI surveillance technology in 63 countries, with Huawei alone is responsible for providing AI surveillance technology to at least 50 countries worldwide. The next largest non-Chinese supplier of AI surveillance tech is Japan's NEC Corporation, whose technology is being deployed in 14 countries.