Insta
Workers at a factory in China. (Guang Niu via Getty Images)
While much of the western media remains engaged in privacy debates in wake of the Cambridge Analytica data leak, Chinese industry is fitting its workers with equipment to monitor their brain waves for maximising their productivity, South China Morning Post has reported.
Workers in several Chinese factories have already been outfitted with sophisticated equipment concealed in regular clothes, like uniforms and helmets, that continuously monitor their brain waves and send them to complex AI-backed systems.
Sitting atop loads of user data, these systems can detect emotional spikes indicating anger, depression and anxiety in the workers and help maximise worker output.
China has reportedly applied the technology across sectors like industry, military, public transport and state-owned companies in its quest for maximising worker competitiveness.
The emotional surveillance program is reportedly also generating results, with an official at the State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power in Hangzhou claiming that it had boosted the company’s profits by 2 billion yuan (over Rs. 2000 crore) since it was rolled out in 2014.
One of the main centres for research on the project is Neuro Cap at the Ningbo University, with the Chinese government funding it.
“When the system issues a warning, the manager asks the worker to take a day off or move to a less critical post. Some jobs require high concentration. There is no room for a mistake,” Jin Jia, an associate professor at the Ningbo University said.
While there was initial resistance from the workers over the use of the brain monitoring devices, they’ve gotten used to it now, Jia added.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest