Beijing Bus Drivers Have Been Told To Wear Wristbands To Monitor Their Emotions (scmp.com) 54
Beijing's long-distance bus drivers have been told to wear electronic wristbands that use emotion-sensing technology to monitor their state of mind. From a report: The move was initiated by the state-run Beijing Public Transport Holding Group, which says it is aimed at protecting public safety. But legal experts have raised privacy concerns and say the wristbands could cause bus drivers undue distress and potentially lead to discrimination. Some 1,800 wristbands were distributed to bus drivers on cross-province and highway routes on Wednesday, the official Beijing Daily reported. It is unclear how many drivers will be required to wear the devices. The report said they would be used to monitor the drivers' vital signs and emotional state in real time to improve safety.
A digital mood ring? (Score:2)
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Governments get suckered into snake-oil all the time, in the USA also. Lie detector tests have questionable & unproven accuracy, for example*, yet are still heavily used. And I've seen "crime pattern detection" software being sold as a silver bullet. It's not, according to subject matter experts I know personally. Often they see the same people involved in dubious-ware over years.
That being said, it's very Orwellian for the Chinese gov't to purchase such, regardless of whether it actually works in pract
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Made by FitBit and blessed by the google? (Score:3)
Feels like a troll thread. Or a weak joke attempt that flopped? There used to a fair bit of wit and humor in these parts, but now Funny seems rare. (I routinely check the big discussions as they fall off the front page.)
On the story, my main reaction was "This is only a transitional solution until the self-driving buses are fully available". But I was joking about the google's involvement. Trust issues and Huawei in China probably makes the best activity monitors. The emotions part of the story is probably
Re: A digital mood ring? (Score:1)
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Polygraph tests are probably a bad example, because while gullible people no doubt put too much faith in their infallibility, they are far from complete hogwash.
I think a better examples how, after 9/11 and the anthrax attacks, police around the world paid money for devices that were essentially divining rods [wikipedia.org].
I do kind of feel sorry for the non-nerds who have to evaluate these things though. The company claimed it could detect various substances using "electrostatic matching of the ionic charge and structu
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Lie detector tests have questionable & unproven accuracy, for example*, yet are still heavily used.
This is an example of a person using hyperbole, getting confused about if it is supposed to be true, and ending up excessively stupid. More stupid than they naturally were.
Polygraphs are not lie detectors tests. They're polygraphs. The government doesn't claim that they can detect lies. It's really more of a temperament test. But when it is given to the same person repeatedly over time, and the results suddenly change, that is often cause for concern. And often, when confronted with this change in results t
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So polygraphs are not a lie detector, but the process of giving the tests does uncover a lot of cases of lying.
theyre also easily gamed or nullified
How far can it go? (Score:4, Insightful)
I've read the unwritten rule is the Chinese people will put up with all the CCP bullshit so long as quality of life continues to improve. When that stops the deal is off. Almost seams like the CCP is doing all it can to ensure there's no reasonable chance of dissent forming.
They've made it clear that they prefer machines to (Score:3)
people. If they could 100% control every thought/feeling/action every citizen could make, I'm sure the ruling class would be all for it - with an exemption for them and theirs, naturally.
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Mass shooting sprees from upset people seems to be USA-only thing. In other countries they tend to "melt down" without taking out a dozen or so people.
Japan has a high suicide rate. Thus, it's not that they cope with life better. But it doesn't have many mass shootings/killings. Sure, guns are harder to get, but even mass stabbings are rare in Japan. In Russia the depressed seem to drink themselves to death.
Is it our violent movie/gaming culture that does this to us? I don't know, just asking. It's odd tha
Re:How far can it go? (Score:4, Insightful)
I'll leave this here, for your convenience.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/26... [cnn.com]
2021: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/11... [cnn.com]
2011, Norway: https://www.bbc.com/news/world... [bbc.com]
Clearly, an American problem of recent origin. No, I don't think so. I think it comes from disturbed people doing disturbing things, and they'll do it with whatever they get their hands on.
The one I hope they hang from a public gallows is the guy that torched KyoAni. They create the most beautiful things, and some asshat thought he was owed something by them, that they had stolen his work. No guns, just gasoline. 40+ dead. Many more wounded. Many more that will never be the same.
That one disturbs me deeply, because of the uniquely beautiful style that studio has. To know that the director, character designer and just about teh whole staff that worked on Nichijou and Kobayashi's Dragon Maid are gone forever is a hard pill to swallow when one watches those works.
Just like it's a hard pill to swallow when one sees kids boarding a school bus, and is reminded of what some whack jobs have done at schools. I may be a gun nut, but I am human. I may rage at those that would curtail liberties to "assure" safety, but I still feel. And no, none of these events change how I feel about those who would curtail our liberties to assure safety. Crazy will do what Crazy does, no matter what.
None of this is cause for cheering or celebration. But it is a bit unkind to put it like you did, that it is an "American" thing.
It is a "Crazy" thing. And try as you might to stop it, Crazy will find a way -- and in Crazy Times, you find more Crazy people.
Re: How far can it go? (Score:1)
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> none of these events change how I feel about those who would curtail our liberties to assure safety.
I think you agree that not everyone should be able to personally own nukes, so obviously you do have a line in the sand. It's just that my line is closer to lower kill-count weapons.
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But it is a bit unkind to put it like you did, that it is an "American" thing.
usa certainly does it better than anyone else though! Its USA #1 for a reason
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I'll leave this here, for your convenience.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/26... [cnn.com]
2021: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/11... [cnn.com]
2011, Norway: https://www.bbc.com/news/world... [bbc.com]
Clearly, an American problem of recent origin. No, I don't think so. I think it comes from disturbed people doing disturbing things, and they'll do it with whatever they get their hands on.
The one I hope they hang from a public gallows is the guy that torched KyoAni. They create the most beautiful things, and some asshat thought he was owed something by them, that they had stolen his work. No guns, just gasoline. 40+ dead. Many more wounded. Many more that will never be the same.
That one disturbs me deeply, because of the uniquely beautiful style that studio has. To know that the director, character designer and just about teh whole staff that worked on Nichijou and Kobayashi's Dragon Maid are gone forever is a hard pill to swallow when one watches those works.
Just like it's a hard pill to swallow when one sees kids boarding a school bus, and is reminded of what some whack jobs have done at schools. I may be a gun nut, but I am human. I may rage at those that would curtail liberties to "assure" safety, but I still feel. And no, none of these events change how I feel about those who would curtail our liberties to assure safety. Crazy will do what Crazy does, no matter what.
None of this is cause for cheering or celebration. But it is a bit unkind to put it like you did, that it is an "American" thing.
It is a "Crazy" thing. And try as you might to stop it, Crazy will find a way -- and in Crazy Times, you find more Crazy people.
So they best you've got is an example from 11 years ago.
Here's a list of mass shootings in the US from this year alone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2022 [wikipedia.org]
To deny that it is largely an American thing is naÃve. No other country has several per week.
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I've read the unwritten rule is the Chinese people will put up with all the CCP bullshit so long as quality of life continues to improve. When that stops the deal is off. Almost seams like the CCP is doing all it can to ensure there's no reasonable chance of dissent forming.
Good luck controlling that dissent when the world's largest asset class comprised of dozens of worthless building shells in ghost cities, financially fails. Their real estate investment market makes Trump property look like the undervalued bargain of the century.
And for the Americans laughing at that, Chinese investors won't be the only ones hurting. What is your pension fund invested in again? I'm sure they learned their lesson in 2008, right? Right?
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And for the Americans laughing at that, Chinese investors won't be the only ones hurting. What is your pension fund invested in again? I'm sure they learned their lesson in 2008, right? Right?
All the investors from 2008 have died of cocaine related heart attacks, this new crew thinks they can do the same thing with different results (basically because they're using cocaine). You can't spell finance without cocaine!
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...dozens of worthless building shells in ghost cities, financially fails.
I'm not going to claim that this will never happen, but I have also been reading articles about the imminent collapse of China's real estate market for more than 20 years and it hasn't happened yet.
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They would literally read your thoughts if they could.
No, they would literally write your thoughts if they could.
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Orwell was recommended reading on year 1, in Surveillance 101 class. Meanwhile, China is working on its Phd.
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As someone who lived there for 4+ years, govt has about 80% approval rating. Their values and ours are different. They want peace and stability whereas here in the USA we value FreeDumb, whatever that is..
So, no, they do things for them, that make sense for them and solve problems for them.
Applying external judgemental stuff to that does little to change the mindset.
Not sure why anyone would think they want or need or input..
Nice troll by the way.
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they do things for them, that make sense for them and solve problems for them.
Lol, because "they" have any say. The CCP decides what goes and what doesn't. And it's easy to have a high approval rating when you can control the information someone receives and brainwash them early on about how glorious the party is. Xi Jinping has been very clear in his ambitions to control thought.
That you piss on freedom of speech and assembly as being "FreeDumb" shows you're not particularly worthy of either and should go back to China.
Make no mistake, there's lots wrong with the US but people
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There was a story a few days about about the same sort of thing being proposed for the US, with in-car monitoring to detect drink driving.
Some European commercial drivers have the same thing, with a system inside the vehicle monitoring them. Of course cameras recording the entire journey are pretty much universal for large trucks.
China has had a number of incidents where bus drivers have caused accidents because they were tired, drunk or had some kind of medical emergency at the wheel. The main issue, I ima
Whoever makes the wristbands (Score:1)
Regulatory capture is a hell of a drug. Vote in your primary election. Stop voting based on name recognition. Google the candidates. And watch out for corporate whores.
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Indeed. The two things are not comparable.
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What kind of sniveling weak-man sauce is this? No, surveilance everywhere is NOT the answer!
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A breathalyzer is not a form of surveillance.
10,000 lives a year lost, many, many more injured. This is serious shit that needs to be addressed. Instead a bunch of old Luddites just don't like the idea of anything new. They probably just got over complaining that they want a cell phone only for calling people.
Re:Whoever makes the wristbands (Score:4, Insightful)
Try to fix it yourself? Nope, that's tampering with required equipment! Hell, even regular car maintenance or a dead battery could trip a warning on the stupid device. You owe YOUR government nothing. Stop empowering them to control you/us.
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Tell that to the person trying to use their car to escape a violent or dangerous situation. Adding time and procedure to blow into a breathalyzer, plus how ever long the unit takes, can lead to all kinds of harm. Need to escape a natural disaster (much more common these days), be it a raging fire, a flood, a tornado? Here, breath into this and hope we let your car start. Need to escape a stalker, abusive spouse, kidnapper, or school shooter? Good luck.
Imposing this on everyone is not the correct soluti
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Right, that happens all the time in scary movies.
While we're at it, having to unlock car doors slows down people from the constant need to quickly escape. Maybe we should get rid of those, too.
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The actual proposal has nothing to do with blowing into a thing. It is just a sensor, that when it detects you're drunk it inhibits operation. If it didn't detect anything, you're not even interacting with it.
Sounds like pseudo-science to me (Score:2)
I mean, emotion-sensing writsbands? What is next, thought reading earrings? Sure, you can find things like heart rate and maybe even some stress levels, but that is rather primitive and can be very misleading because a lot of interpretation is needed. So is the driver stressed because his marriage failed and he things about driving down a cliff or does he just really badly go to the loo? Of course, the whole intent could be to fake out these drivers and making them think these wristbands can sense emotions,
Emotion assuming technology you mean... (Score:2)
They infer the person's mood based on things like temperature and changes in skin resistance. So a lie detector that you carry everywhere?
Go watch the TV series Lie to Me and tell me what you think of this idea (hint, it's a nice goal but until we're sure it works...I wouldn't spend money on it. Might as well have them carry around huge eggs to possibly break).
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hint, it's a nice goal but until we're sure it works...I wouldn't spend money on it. Might as well have them carry around huge eggs to possibly break
No, this is actually cheaper. Most people have their minds turn off and eyes gloss over when the words "computer", "internet", "cybersecurity", etc. enter the conversation. Put a layer of "digital" on it and the government gets a free pass by default. If they include "convenience" with it, the government would be punished for attempting to take it away. Eggs are just too simple for people to fall for.
Even better this also gives the government an endless source of plausible deniability. (Not that a regime
Wrist? (Score:2)
That's not typically where one wears a plethysmograph.
Privacy Experts ? (Score:1)
They're only NOW concerned about China's over-reaching surveillance system? When you're tracked for on your social media profile for jay-walking and your friends are penalized, that's not bad enough?
MS-Bob-Watch: (Score:2)
MS-Bob: "It looks like you're having a meltdown. Should I dial the authorities?"
Driver: "No! Shuddup, Bob-shit!"
MS-Bob: "I'm programmed to dial them anyhow. In progress..."
[A minute later...]
MS-Bob: "Throwing me onto the street like this does no good, for I already contact them".
If they rage, does this happen? (Score:2)
Idiocracy - Frito's Car. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re: If they rage, does this happen? (Score:2)
So unrealistic, to see a mob of people around some bright event, without seeing phones out and vlogging/tiktoking/etc about it.
Government control (Score:1)
Safety is always the excuse (Score:2)
Providing increased safety is always the excuse when despotic governments want to increase their knowledge and control over our lives. China has been a dystopian nightmare for quite a while now, but it seems to be continuing on this terrible path. We need to be alert to keep it happening in our country. There are signs of it beginning everywhere.
Psycho Pass vibes (Score:2)
Remember citizens, it's your duty to keep a clear hue [fandom.com].
Amtrak (Score:2)
Seriously? We can’t even keep the guys manning the dead-man-switch awake here in the states. On vehicles that are on tracks . . .
I know, accident jokes are tacky, but really: tracks.
Actually - instead of monitoring the driver . . . seems like there’s no problem if you:
- keep the vehicles cleaned & maintained
- have efficient routes and enough busses
- make the transactions seamless and affordable
- give them a living wage
- have them on reasonable hours
I know the excuse against that here is the
The results got already leaked (Score:2)
They hate their boss.
They hate their customers.
They hate their job.
They hat Winnie-The-Pooh.