China Installs AI Surveillance In Prison To Make Escape "Impossible"

A high-security prison in China has stationed a high-tech guard in every cell. The Yancheng prison, a facility directly run by the country's Ministry of Justice, has installed cameras in every cell in an attempt to use AI or artificial intelligence to monitor inmates. The "smart jail" system involves a network of surveillance cameras and hidden sensors throughout the prison.

The network of cameras will be able to monitor prison inmates and flag anything that is deemed unusual or worrying, according to a report by South China Morning Post.

The cameras and sensors will use facial recognition technology and movement analysis to monitor prisoners.

"For instance," explained project representative Meng Qingbiao to South China Morning Post, "if an inmate has been spotted pacing up and down in a room for some time, the machine may regard the phenomenon as suspicious and suggest close-up checks with a human guard".

Some experts believe that this surveillance technology will make prison breaks impossible. Even if inmates manage to bribe human guards, they will not be able to stop the system from triggering the alarm.

"The cutting edge technology allows each camera to track up to 200 faces at the same time," said Mr Qingbiao. So the prisoners might be able blend in the crowd, but they will never be able to slip away completely.

"Prison breaks will be history."