China is using AI to profile Uighur Muslims

  1. The Chinese government has been allegedly using a system of facial recognition cameras to track Uighur Muslim minority. According to experts, it is the first known example of a government intentionally using artificial intelligence for racial profiling
  2. The facial recognition system has been integrated into surveillance cameras. They look exclusively for Uighurs based on their appearance and keeps records of their comings and goings for search and review.
  3. Previously, Chin had been alleged of preparing a DNA database for surveillance against Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region.
  4. Xinjiang is an administrative region in north-western China. The population in Xinjiang is predominantly Uighurs. Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims.
  5. China has faced widespread international condemnation for allegedly detaining Uighur Muslims and other Muslim groups in the western Xinjiang region. However, China has denied there are internment camps but advocated that people in Xinjiang are receiving “vocational training” in “re-education camps”.