Slashdot Mirror


High School in China Installs Facial Recognition Cameras To Monitor Students' Attentiveness (theepochtimes.com)

A high school in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province located on the eastern coast of China, has employed facial recognition technology to monitor students' attentiveness in class, local media reports. From the report: At Hangzhou Number 11 High School, three cameras at the front of the classroom scan students' faces every 30 seconds, analyzing their facial expressions to detect their mood, according to a May 16 report in the state-run newspaper The Paper. The different moods -- surprised, sad, antipathy, angry, happy, afraid, neutral -- are recorded and averaged during each class. A display screen, only visible to the teacher, shows the data in real-time. A certain value is determined as a student not paying enough attention. A video shot by Zhejiang Daily Press revealed that the system -- coined the "smart classroom behavior management system" by the school -- also analyzes students' actions, categorized into: reading, listening, writing, standing up, raising hands, and leaning on the desk.

152 comments

  1. Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    See how the message is received and refine until accepted.

    1. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Next they'll have electric shock for not paying attention

    2. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      In the old days the teacher kept an eye on his students... and a whack on the wrist with a ruler was the first warning. These days everyone is SJW'd and their kids are assholes.

    3. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Smacking kids hands is wrong (unless they agree?? but seems like you wouldn't get much of that short of some other threatening or coercive action which is also wrong- but there will always be edge cases- like the people who are into pain- kinky sorts) and so is this system.

    4. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Or if lots of kids are not paying attention, they can fire the teacher and hire a new teacher able to make the lessons more interesting.

    5. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Paying attention in class is a waste of time for some. I was one of them. Preferred to study the text at home. All my teachers just read the book to us in class anyways.

      Generally got 70 to 90 percent on exams, and slept in just about every class. Once woke up to a student asking if I was passing. I kept my head down on my book and listened to the teacher rifle through papers and he said "Yes, he's doing fine. Must be learning by osmosis."

      If you kept me awake in class my grades would drop because I'd be sleeping during my study time and bored in class.

      In other words, shit teachers did what yours did.

    6. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by sheramil · · Score: 1

      Or if lots of kids aren't paying attention, they could be dismissed and allowed to roam the streets freely, while their places at school are taken by kids who want to be there.

    7. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by barc0001 · · Score: 1

      That's an excellent plan. I can't see anything wrong with an entire segment of a generation growing up functioning at an mid-elementary grade level, can you? Surely that couldn't possibly cause massive problems years later....

    8. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      Or if lots of kids aren't paying attention, they could be dismissed and allowed to roam the streets freely

      If most of the kids are not paying attention, that is the teacher's fault. Any subject can be interesting if presented in the right way. I once took an evening course on "Introduction to Bookkeeping" at my local community college. The 80 year old geezer teaching the course kept us on the edge of our seats with stories of how he uncovered fraud, embezzling and lapping. Did you ever see the movie The Accountant? I think it was about him.

    9. Re:Mechanisms of propaganda. by drnb · · Score: 1

      See how the message is received and refine until accepted.

      Not only that, identify those who are not enthusiastically accepting the message. That will be important in the Communist Party's History and Political Science classes. It will help identify those who need a "supplemental" class.

    10. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by EETech1 · · Score: 2

      Classic South Park
      https://youtu.be/MBEfHZITrgo

    11. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We can build a prison big enough for everybody!

      Create jobs for prison guards!

    12. Re:Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why pick on high school students? Let's measure politicians attentiveness.

      But seriously, what an awful way to live. If that were done where I live, I'd pull my kid out of the school immediately.

    13. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try that with a core course that is needed to complete the program. You took bookkeeping, presumably because you wanted to, not because you had to. There are classrooms full of un-engaged students, because they have to be there, not because they want to be. They can be trained to jump through hoops but after the exam is done, ask them what they know.

    14. Re:Mechanisms of propaganda. by morethanapapercert · · Score: 1
      But pulling your kids out of school would be scored negatively (and likely harshly negatively) on your own social credit score, resulting in you being banned for any travel, loans and an ever increasing range of jobs. The Chinese government has been very clear that it wants to exert enough influence as to become coercion on all members of its society, coercion to make everybody conform to committee derived ideals of model citizenry.

      Pretty soon you'd be homeless and destitute. And with the social credit system being understood and accepted by the majority, the homeless will become seen as deserving their homeless status because it will be assumed they got that way by refusal to conform.

      --
      I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
    15. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Actually, it sounds like you had poor teachers if all they did in lecture is read from the book. If they had been good teachers who engaged their students in a learning dialect, maybe you wouldn't have had those 70 scores.

    16. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      It's actually an honor and privledge to be a Party member. I'm sure they have indoctrination classes for the masses, but cadre on track to become full members are not slackers.

    17. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Sounds like life in the West, except arbitrary bosses and landlords make the determination.

    18. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Reverend+Green · · Score: 1

      Coming soon to a police state near you

    19. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, I read 1984. They are right on track.

    20. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ushered in by your fellow travelers Komrade Peen!

    21. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this will be counted for your Social Credit Score

    22. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its the american way. Most amercians seem to be at best educted to an elementary level.

    23. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      It's about time they used this technology to help the children, instead of just using it for advertising!

    24. Re:Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not only chinese are gaging reactions.

    25. Re:Mechanisms of propaganda. by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      Holy fuck.
      This really is "1984" for real.

    26. Re: Mechanisms of propaganda. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can't with health, or prosperity. Time for uh authotariaism

  2. Because... by taiwanjohn · · Score: 2

    Falling asleep in class would be a huge loss of, umm... prestige?

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve your problem, you're not using enough of it. --AC
    1. Re:Because... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 2

      A loss of points on your Social Score, perhaps. You know, the thing that tracks Chinese citizens' behaviour and bars them from flying and other "privileges" if the score drops too low.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  3. If we had this in my generation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I would have ended-up as a drop-out instead of a Ph.D.

    1. Re:If we had this in my generation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But you would have been a drop out accustomed to the government monitoring your every action, right down to your emotional sate, which is far more important to the Chinese Communist Party than whatever your PhD is worth.

    2. Re:If we had this in my generation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would have ended-up as a Ph.D. instead of a drop-out. The same for most people, I suspect.

    3. Re:If we had this in my generation by fredrated · · Score: 1

      I suspect you are entirely wrong.

    4. Re:If we had this in my generation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, man, he totally would have been smart enough to get a PhD if somebody had done it for him.

    5. Re:If we had this in my generation by Falconnan · · Score: 2

      Which, in the long run, is less than helpful to them. If one subscribes to the premise that The Party wishes to lead their country to greatness, to being a superpower, if not THE superpower, then one must therefore assume they think this is a good idea. The psychology is simple, that they believe that their party is the only hope for this to happen. What they are missing is that the limitations on the exchange of ideas in the end limits their nation's potential. They think unity of purpose alone can lead them to their end goal, but they have missed a simple reality: Unity of purpose alone leads to the risk that, if they drive off a cliff, they do so as one.

    6. Re:If we had this in my generation by morethanapapercert · · Score: 1

      Unity of purpose pretty much assumes homogenized thought as well, which explicitly suppresses diversity of ideas and creativity. From China's point of view, that isn't as crippling as one might think, since they have such a long standing tradition of stealing intellectual property from other countries and businesses that want to do business in China. As long as they are such a huge market and seemingly inexhaustible source of dirt-cheap labour, they don't need to foster domestic innovation, international businesses will beat a path to their door bringing innovation with them.

      --
      I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
    7. Re:If we had this in my generation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah, yes - the degree of degrees:

      First you get your Bull Shit degree, then the More Shit degree, and finally the coveted Piled Higher and Deeper degree. BS, MS, PHD.

      Let me guess - Underwater basket weaving?

    8. Re:If we had this in my generation by Falconnan · · Score: 1

      All true. But to lead, one has to innovate, develop, and invent. Granted, there are certainly benefits to their approach (excluding the co-opting of IP), but in the end, it is ultimately self-limiting.

    9. Re:If we had this in my generation by morethanapapercert · · Score: 1
      I don't think that leading, per se, is all that high on China's agenda right now. Their current method is reaping enormous profits as it is and giving them a leg up in terms of technological development. I don't think they can overtake the US in terms of innovation using their current methods, but they certainly help China catch up. Once they are on par with nations like the US, Germany and so on, then they can shift strategies and foster more domestic innovation.

      Bringing us back to the original topic, such tactics also dovetail nicely with the key Chinese goal of centralized control. The Chinese government inserts itself into every major deal with western corporations wanting to do business in China. From the west, they force the companies to help boost the domestic economy. For the Chinese people and businesses, they become the source (or choke point) for all that western money and IP. That also means that, as in the article, the government is first in line to start using the latest technology to support its ideology.

      --
      I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
  4. Upgrades by mentil · · Score: 3, Insightful

    the system also analyzes students' actions, categorized into: reading, listening, writing, standing up, raising hands, and leaning on the desk.

    Soon to come: doodling, fomenting rebellion, gossiping, sleeping, reading non-class materials, and pranking.

    --
    Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    1. Re:Upgrades by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Soon to come, shut down of the system due to stress levels created in the vulnerable excitable somewhat unstable adolescent students having an extreme negative impact on grade results. Stressing the crap out of most students does not improve their grade, sure they can fake discipline, whilst inside they seethe with carefully hidden rage, that builds and builds and builds. Want to kill creativity, what to murder inventiveness, want to slaughter imagination, than this is the way to go and good luck keeping up with the countries that don't, you be fucked in the future.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    2. Re:Upgrades by bursch-X · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Even sooner to come: wrongthink, doubting the propaganda, not being a good citizen, dissentient thinking

      --
      There are two rules for success:
      1. Never tell everything you know.
    3. Re:Upgrades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Midwich Cuckoos

    4. Re:Upgrades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      China's plan is to use facial recognition to create a citizen social credit score. The score is calculated using a range of behaviors. Some example behaviors include jaywalking, buying Chinese-made goods, or buying too many video games. A low score result in being banned from buying a plane ticket, renting a house, accessing high-speed internet or getting a loan. And of course the law enforcement and other government security agencies use facial recognition systems for all types of interesting things. And the Chinese populace is silent and accepts these surveillance programs without complaint. Unlike the US China doesn't have to put up with the never ending complaints from their citizens and do pretty much anything they want. And hell in the US people are agitating and demanding the covert US intelligence and counter intelligence agencies become more transparent. The Russian and Chinese security agencies are probably laying on the ground laughing their asses off.

  5. What happened to good old-fashioned test scores? by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What if Chinese students turn out cleverer than the adults and adapt to show attentiveness and comprehension while secretly being out to lunch? Or worse, look on as if in rapt attention while secretly fantasizing about a world in which they don’t have to pretend they’re not bored when they’re bored, a world that does not, if you’ll forgive me, so closely resemble the Seventh Circle of Hell?

    --
    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  6. China will lead the World by 2030 by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 1, Interesting

    And shit like this will be the norm around the world as the other nations strive to follow their lead Too bad that by 2030 the US will be a nation of bible banging morons with no education living poverty But the US Prison Industry will use this on their 100m+ population of "Prison Workers" manning the Factories they voted for Trump to build

    1. Re: China will lead the World by 2030 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's gonna end badly with either the Republicans or the Democrats. The Democrats used to be the answer. Not so much anymore.

    2. Re:China will lead the World by 2030 by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      Somewhere, early on, you seem to have lost both your train of thought as well as your periods.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    3. Re: China will lead the World by 2030 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Democrats used to be the answer

      The answer to what exactly?
      Who will raise my taxes?
      Who will create more government programs?
      Who would most likely take away my rights?

      Just curious how you arrived at Democrats as an answer to anything that wasn't a disaster.

    4. Re:China will lead the World by 2030 by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 1

      Does that mean he's pregnant since he lost his periods?

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    5. Re: China will lead the World by 2030 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Democrat partisans sure do hate average Americans.

    6. Re:China will lead the World by 2030 by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      It just means his brain is past menopause.

    7. Re: China will lead the World by 2030 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So that's why Windy doesn't copy facts, it's his western creative upbringing. His special snowflake feelings are just as good as route memorized facts, better even, because they make all the other special snowflakes feel warm and fuzzy inside when they believe his lies.

  7. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When do they add the electric shocks that are automatically administered? Inquiring minds want to know!

  8. American big Tech whores at the ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That system could also spot a raised eyebrow when feeding the students historical propaganda.

    I am also sure that American Big Tech companies are at the ready to help the Chinese government do this: Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Cisco. The list is long and disgusting. Anything for a buck including trafficking in oppression and human misery.

    1. Re:American big Tech whores at the ready by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lets be real here. Any company worldwide, if they could make a buck (or yuan, or Euro) by throwing babies into a fire, they would. It doesn't matter if it is a Chinese company, US corporation, or European company, all would sell their soul and those around if it made any cash at all.

  9. It's from the Epoch Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Epoch Times is run by the Falun Gong. Falun Gong adherents declare themselves a peaceful religion (something about a great spiritual wheel turning inside your abdomens). The Chinese government has declared it a cult and has actively suppressed it within China (arrests and if the reports are to be believed, torture and deaths).

    I don't know enough to say either way, but it's fairly dependable that "China is oppressive" stories will be carried by them. How accurate it is, I don't know (I can imagine people being driven insane by, well, torture). YMMV.

    If you go to Hong Kong on one of the main shopping streets there's a permanent Falun Gong protest booth and a counter protest booth (almost certainly funded by the Chinese government) directly alongside it.

  10. China wants to weed folks like that out by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    any authoritarian regime does. Here in America we do it with religion. You need to put a damper on progress somehow if you want to say in power.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:China wants to weed folks like that out by Pinky's+Brain · · Score: 1

      Importing more people from non-progressive, religious and classist societies will surely help.

  11. Stepping stone. by jtgd · · Score: 1

    I guess this will do... until they get those brain implants in.

    --
    J
    1. Re:Stepping stone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess this will do... until they get those brain implants in.

      Even that is just a stepping stone until the hard AI drones arrive. Then everyone except the rich and powerful will be discarded as too costly to maintain.

      Why bother chiping something that take 18 years and 9 months to be useful and has higher resource requirements than a drone that never sleeps, never gets tired, never has to be paid or compensated, and only needs to be recharged every now and then? Much faster and cheaper to just build a drone and rent it out when you're not using it than to deal with....ugh.... people.

      For those that don't realize that control and their own existence is only necessary to the rulers, so long as the rulers have to fear the armies of other rulers, I feel really bad for you. You'll be in for a really rude awakening once all of the kinks are worked out.

  12. Lovely post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nice good post ... about school
    click here Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Biography

  13. We need this in the US... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder if this would be useful in the US, just for looking for anti-social behavior patterns. It might even stop the next school shooting if someone who isn't of the status quo is pulled aside and evaluated because their facial expressions show anger and violence often.

    1. Re: We need this in the US... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Minority report.

    2. Re:We need this in the US... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will work in the VERY short term. Then people as mentioned above will learn to hide their disgust/rage/etc and let it build, and basically you'll just end up building a better shooter.

      Would *you* like to have a camera on you all the time during the day at school, analysing your behaviour constantly, snitching on you when you frown or look away for 1 second in those 30? No. Nobody would.

    3. Re:We need this in the US... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "If it saves kids' lives, then it is worth it"

      Oh, well then, let's shackle the little bastards so they can't move, and monitor their every action 24/7. "For the children". No.

      "Venezuela, Honduras, and Australia passed blanket gun bans, and their crime rate is a fraction of what it used to be before guns were freely available."

      No, just no. There HAVE been more mass shootings in Australia since their infamous gun ban. They're just not really reported on, as that fucks up the narrative. If you google, you can find them.

      Criminals now have more guns than before the ban. Gun crime is up since the ban. Police forces in most municipalities are starting to issue M4 carbines because of this. And here's the real kicker - yes, there are harsh penalties for illegal gun ownership, but they don't differentiate, so now the weapon of choice for importation is the machine gun - hey, if you're gonna go to jail, and for either a single-shot or a machine gun, go for the gusto!

      It's called the "law of unintended consequences".

      Gun bans don't work, because it only disarms the law-abiding.

  14. STOP THIS CRAP by Wolfrider · · Score: 1

    Parents need to rip out the godxam cameras and go medieval on the authoritarian idiots that decided to install them. 1984 was a damn WARNING, not a HOWTO manual you f--kers...

    --
    .
    == WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??
    1. Re:STOP THIS CRAP by sheramil · · Score: 2

      Yeah, they tried that. It was called the Cultural Revolution. It didn't work quite as they expected it to.

  15. Re:What happened to good old-fashioned test scores by PineHall · · Score: 1

    It makes me think of the Sci-Fi book, The Stainless Steel Rat, where the anti-hero, the rat, refined his skills and became super criminal getting around the very strong security. (He ended up using his skills to capture crooks like him.) The very strong security honed his skills ( the "stainless steel part") so that he became a super criminal. Could these cameras create the students you describe, ones who fake attentiveness and comprehension? I think it is possible.

  16. Creapina by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    China is getting ever creepier with monitoring. Gotta "love" commies.

    1. Re:Creapina by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We "love" you too, comrade. No homo! In case that's what the quotation marks mean.

    2. Re:Creapina by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      What if it turns out that China stopped being Communist decades ago and are actually a semi-autocratic Confucian Republic?

      Does it change the creepiness?

    3. Re:Creapina by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Now they are a dictatorship. Xi booted opposition.

    4. Re:Creapina by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      Much of their society is ruled by local elected officials.

      So having one guy in charge of foreign policy and national direction leaves it exactly at "semi-autocratic Confucian Republic."

      Also, Xi Jinping didn't "boot" the opposition, he won the support of bunch of people in the party who are themselves elected by members of the party. So that part is all exactly as you would expect in a Confucian Meritocracy. In a Communist system you would expect instead of have selected the people with enough Virtue to choose the leaders, you wouldn't want it to be mostly Democratic.

  17. Re:HS in China? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

    Does China even have indoor plumbing?

    Not everywhere. Some rural inland provinces are very poor. But TFA is about Hangzhou, one of the most prosperous cities in China, with a per capita GDP higher than some EU countries.

    Hangzhou is about two hours south of Shanghai by train, and well worth visiting. It is a beautiful city, built around a lake, with a lot of old architecture. It is a great place to spend a quiet weekend away from the bustle of Shanghai.

  18. Oppressive society is oppressive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This will increase the suicide rate. maybe that is their aim?

  19. Kids are use to it by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Yeah, like they have a choice? It's called indoctrination, conditioning. Get them use to it as kids, so they accept it easier as adults. Schools in the USA do the same thing, but not to this degree...YET.

  20. Resistance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And Facebook and google all believe A.I. and facial recognition is nothing but good. Wow...... the future is so....... controlled.

  21. God forbid by bobstreo · · Score: 1

    they start with inappropriate boner tracking and social media
    "loss of face".

    Of course after a few generations, there won't be any more natural pregnancies due to the lack of sexual enthusiasm and fear of social repercussions.

    1. Re: God forbid by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Yes. It's always about oppression of the 'boner.'

      *sigh*

  22. Coming soon to a place near you by hyades1 · · Score: 2

    Does anybody doubt we'll be seeing something similar in American schools, stores, police stations and workplaces before long?

    American corporations have been telling us for years if we allow them to modify their wares to meet Chinese demands, the end result will be a China that is more free and more open.

    Instead, often with the assistance of Apple, Google, Microsoft and dozens of other corporations, China is tightening the screws on its population. Meanwhile, privacy in America is becoming a thing of the past, and the powers of "Free World" corporations and governments are increasing every day.

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    1. Re:Coming soon to a place near you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does anyone remember when IBM sold a mainframe to nazi Germany to keep track of the prisoners in their death camps? This reminds me of that. I wonder if there are folks at Apple, M$ and Google, who are in love with Chinese ideals the same way the then head of IBM was in love with the nazis.

    2. Re: Coming soon to a place near you by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      I am sure almost nobody is alive to remember. Certainly not 'mainframes' which at the time did not exist.

      However, what IBM did sell was a punched card system. Data was stored in 80 row fields on punched cards. There were machines for human operators to punch data on cards, machines to sort cards into bins by field, and machines to put a deck of card in to print out fields on the cards. The 'programming' was figuring out which fields on the cards to sort by, or print, etc. and was accomplished using jumper wire panels.

      Punched card decks were the repository of data at the time.

    3. Re:Coming soon to a place near you by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      Good question.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    4. Re:Coming soon to a place near you by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      In America, if your parents want you to get ahead they'll buy you smart glasses that monitor your attention and make sure you're learning the Right Things.

      And other kids will still be doing Free Range learning.

      And poor kids will ignore all that stare out the window or doodle on the desk because they're not going to get in trouble at home for not having learned anything, and are also not encouraged to value education.

  23. Look out Teachers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great idea - when the class looks like it is bored or has lost focus they replace the teacher !

  24. Totalitarian government + technology = joy by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 2

    At least in the west, Big Brother still pretends that he isn't actually watching you ever second of the day.

    1. Re: Totalitarian government + technology = joy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Big Brother Google is always watching.

  25. Snow Crash by AlanObject · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As usual, the best sci-fi writers were well ahead of this curve. The following is an exerpt from Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson in 1992:

    Y.T.'s mom pulls up the new memo, checks the time, and starts reading it. The estimated reading time is 15.62 minutes. Later, when Marietta does her end-of-day statistical roundup, sitting in her private office at 9:00 P.M., she will see the name of each employee and next to it, the amount of time spent reading this memo, and her reaction, based on the time spent, will go something like this:

    Less than 10 mm. Time for an employee conference and possible attitude counseling.

    10-14 min. Keep an eye on this employee; may be developing slipshod attittide.

    14-15.61 mm. Employee is an efficient worker, may sometimes miss important details.

    Exactly 15.62 mm. Smartass. Needs attitude counseling.

    15.63-16 mm. Asswipe. Not to be trusted.

    16-18 mm. Employee is a methodical worker, may sometimes get hung up on minor details.

    More than 18 mm. Check the security videotape, see just what this employee was up to (e.g., possible unauthorized restroom break).

    Y.T.'s mom decides to spend between fourteen and fifteen minutes reading the memo. It's better for younger workers to spend too long, to show that they're careful, not cocky. It's better for older workers to go a little fast, to show good management potential. She's pushing forty. She scans through the memo, hitting the Page Down button at reasonably regular intervals, occasionally paging back up to pretend to reread some earlier section. The computer is going to notice all this. It approves of rereading. It's a small thing, but over a decade or so this stuff really shows up on your work-habits summary.

    1. Re:Snow Crash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm fascinated by the change from minutes to millimeters. Can I subscribe to your newsletter?

    2. Re:Snow Crash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's Mariettas all the way down.

  26. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You've clearly never been to China.

    Here, I can stereotype too. All Americans are fat, lazy and materialistic.

  27. euchink by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey, it's hard to turn chinese kids into riggers.

  28. Wow. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is probably a bad idea. Most people I know didn't pay attention in high school classes because the information content is so small--you could pay attention to one lecture every two weeks and not be behind the rest of the class.

  29. Geography by Jesus+H+Rolle · · Score: 3, Funny

    A high school in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province located on the eastern coast of China

    It's good that they specified which coast.

    1. Re:Geography by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Smart arse, there is a south coast to China.

    2. Re:Geography by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Americans didn’t know there COULD be a south coast.

    3. Re:Geography by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to Zhejiang Province though.

  30. Reinventing the wheel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Isn't that something an attentive teacher would be doing subconsioucly with their eyes/brain?

  31. definition of "normal" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... as a student not paying enough attention.

    Then what? Beatings "until morale improves"; I mean, attention. I found school rather boring and totally worthless when dealing with half-arsed parenting, schoolgirls, a driving permit and any thoughts of life after school. Plus, as I discovered 20 years later, I can't concentrate for long periods, so I despise this world that demands employees (or students) fit some detailed and arbitrary definition of "normal".

  32. Actually this is a very useful tool for teachers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As one who teaches I can tell you stories of good students who tried very hard but can't seem to grasp the essence of the subject being taught

    In a small class situation perhaps the teacher can pause and help individual students who encounter 'cognitive blockages' but in large size classes teachers have neither the time nor the ability to scan each and every student for signs of 'cognitive blockages'

    With this installed teachers would at least be able to identify when a student becomes 'stuck' and thus, know exactly at which point of the lesson becomes 'difficult' and can devise potential helpful advises to that student (and all other students who would take that class in the future)

    It's much like identifying a portion of the road which is 'accident prone' and erect road signs to warn other drivers of upcoming dangers, ahead

  33. Re: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think this is pretty normal. School is a method to enforce mediocrity and conformity, due to how it is managed, learning is only accidental. It provides a normal way of creating acceptable citizens to pay taxes without knowing too much about finance.

  34. 1984 2.0 moving fast by volodymyrbiryuk · · Score: 1

    Does it deduct points from their 'social credit'?

    --
    sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
  35. Technically possible by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

    Having a limited number (30, 50, a bit more?) of people, who are probably known to the algorithm (fed with basic information of all the students in the given class?), in more or less static positions and well-defined places? That does sound certainly doable. There might be still quite a few problems, misinterpretations, ways to trick the system, etc. though.

    --
    Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
  36. Re:What happened to good old-fashioned test scores by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Or maybe it's just a tool to assist the teacher when they have to deal with a large class of kids. I'm not saying it isn't Orwellian, merely that perhaps it's not designed to force the kids to pay attention but rather to help the teacher notice where they need to focus their attention. Managing 30 kids who have to do boring work is hard.

    I actually know some Chinese kids, and I've seen their school... It wasn't some kind of Party Loyalty factory, it was just a normal school full of normal kids but with more of a focus on rote learning than we have in the west.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  37. Even the Chinese? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    The different moods -- surprised, sad, antipathy, angry, happy, afraid, neutral -- are recorded and averaged during each class. A display screen, only visible to the teacher, shows the data in real-time.

    I would have thought that the students' faces themselves show the data in real time; does this mean that even Chinese teachers can't recognize Chinese faces?

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
    1. Re:Even the Chinese? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      your mistake is to believe that this is done for the benefit of the teachers

  38. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "You've clearly never been to China."

    What, the women there are also manipulative bitches?

  39. Meanwhile in America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they have the peculiar experiment of first selling guns and rifles to kids in their teens and early twenties, and then place armed security guards in the schools, and then wait to see how it plays out.

    It's not the chinese who are mentally deranged, it's you.

    1. Re: Meanwhile in America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Disarm the commoners!!!!!!!1!!!11!!

  40. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you ever bother to travel outside of your country, you'll find people worldwide are as diverse as the people you know of where you live. It's disgusting then you see someone make claims like "in this place the people are like this". No, the people are individuals.

    I've lived in eight countries in my life and have never seen a homogeneous populace. Anywhere you go there are good people, there are bad people. There are smart people, there are stupid people. There are strong people, there are weak people. The "outside world" isn't the scary and backward place that you imagine it to be.

  41. Fuck China by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    Fuck China

    1. Re:Fuck China by geirlk · · Score: 1

      Sure, but that said, don't underestimate their influence on the world.

    2. Re:Fuck China by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good sheep.

  42. Re:What happened to good old-fashioned test scores by GuB-42 · · Score: 1

    Then they will fail their tests and teachers will think that they are retarded. And as a result they will be sent to where the retards are sent instead of the teachers understanding that it is an attention problem and deal with it correctly.

    Smart kids failing their tests because they find their lecture boring and don't listen at all is very common, and mistaking it for low intelligence is probably the worst thing you can do to them. So while there are many reasons to oppose the system, defeating it may backfire.

  43. Social media rating by geirlk · · Score: 1

    What I consider more terrifying is when you see this up against the Chinese implementing ratings on Social media. Every citizen will get a ranking, which again will dictate whether or not you'll be hired in a company etc. etc.

    These systems will almost be guaranteed to be connected at some point.

    Not much room for dissenting views in China.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  44. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have lived in 4 countries not counting where I come from or where I traveled to enjoy trip.

    Stereotypes do fucking work. So I have anecdotal evidence, which to me is strongest kind of evidence. Now take your opinion and stick up the arse.(yes, there are stupid and bad people everywhere. Exceptions do happen. And stereotypes do to. And exceptions from them)

    Anecdotal evidence is good, if you know how to use it. I have encountered thousands of people. It's a scientific result at this time. And I am pretty sure many would reproduce and agree.

  45. Classroom = LabRats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Chinese love to eat rats.

  46. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ALL your evidence is anecdotal, you moron.

    The fact tbat you woke up this morning ... that this comment here exists ... and most importantly: that that study exists and says what you think it says.
    You did not personally do a study with statistically reliable data on any of the things you base your daily life on, did you?

    Actually, for most thinks, you do not even have anecdotal evidence, but, at best, hearsay. Thinks like if one dies from jumping off a building, or if any of your government/leaders actually exists.
    Have you actually ever met Trump? (Or whoever is your leader or owner.)

    Yet you based your entire behavior on that hearsay and your anecdotal evidence.

  47. It was done since the 90's everywhere else by Laxator2 · · Score: 2

    I remember in the mid-90's when Windows NT was used everywhere in the corporate world, monitoring the employees was the order of the day. It was very common to hear from managers that were sales people and accountants things like:

    "Between 2 and 2:30 PM you did not type at all. Your colleague was typing all this time"

    Nowadays it is known that bosses take snapshots of the websites that the employees visit and put them on their individual files so they can use them during performance review.

    An none of this has anything to do with China.

  48. Unintended consequence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A single inattentive could be because the student is bored because he is bright and the teacher is working to bring the class up to average.
    If this is the case, then this metric might eliminate the best and brightest.
    Unless it is also combined with some sort of standard testing.
    But if you could pass the standard test, why waste time in the class at all?

    A whole class full of inattentive is the teacher.

    A few brats, not interested in school means what, labor camp?
    Autocratic rule might have some advantage here until it goes too far.
    Doesn't China have a long history of going too far and imploding?
    Hope this isn't a sign of this yet again.
    It will be interesting to see what they do with this new metric.

    1. Re:Unintended consequence by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      In China they give the kids a lot more testing, and exceptional students get moved to better schools. They already know how smart all the kids are, and if they've been selected to be receive an education that benefits from creative thought or if they are being trained as a regular worker.

      Kids not being interested in school means their parents will have poor Social Credit for failing to instill meritorious values and habits in their children. If your kids don't get good grades, and don't even pay sufficient attention, then don't expect to get a promotion, or rent convenient housing, or take foreign vacations.

      If the problem is bad enough, you might not even be able to buy train tickets during high demand times of day.

  49. Might be bad idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The smartest students will be bored out of their minds. The stupidest students will be bored out of their minds. Useful info for some of the average students... maybe. Sounds like it's ripe for false data based on a false premise. I learned everything before class and was bored in class... doodling and such because the teachers rarely understood the material.

  50. an Orwellian nightmare... by morethanapapercert · · Score: 1

    And just how long will it be before the central authorities decide to add school attentiveness scores to the social credit scores they are already using on adults to control their movements? And clearly getting good grades won't be enough for the advanced students who can handle the course work without paying a lot of attention to the teacher during regular class hours. The top scorers are going to be those who get tops grades and manage to keep an expression on their face that passes the automated criteria.

    According to news reports, already millions of Chinese have been blacklisted for travel. (and not even international travel, but internal travel for the Lunar New Year which is kind of a big deal in China with traveller numbers in the millions)

    It's probably only a matter of time before "you're a lazy student, you don't qualify to go home to see your parents and grandparents this year..." becomes a reality.

    Note that things like jaywalking, being a no-show for restaurant reservations and giving fake reviews online are already included and the official government stance is that this social credit system and related punishment/reward system will cover the whole of Chinese society by 2020.

    --
    I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
    1. Re:an Orwellian nightmare... by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      It seems more likely that that is the purpose, rather than something where it would make sense to wonder "how long will it be before..."

  51. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by butzwonker · · Score: 1

    I have lived for a substantial amount of time in 3 countries so far and cannot confirm this. But in any case, screw any of this anecdotal evidence. Use your brain instead. Stereotypes usually provide less distinctions than zodiac signs, it's mind-bogglingly idiotic to make general remarks about the character, habits, or personality traits of millions of people - or even billions, like in the case of China. This is especially true if you select those people on the basis of entirely coincidental features like "nationality".

    I have learned two other things about other countries: Every country has roughly the same amount of assholes and people you don't want to have anything to do with, but that the majority of people are nice wherever you go.

  52. France has this too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some schools in France are testing a similar system called "Nestor":

    https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/26/15679806/ai-education-facial-recognition-nestor-france

  53. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by sarren1901 · · Score: 1

    I don't know, I've been to Canada and they are a shit load nicer in Victoria then most anywhere in the USA, though people do tend to be a bit nicer in the Midwest on average. People are to much in a hurry on the West coast.

  54. Re: What happened to good old-fashioned test score by Evtim · · Score: 1

    You would have said the same if you saw us in class 35 years ago behind the wall. It works via self censorship. By the time you are 1st grade you already know to shut up and pretend...
    Go to NK and it will look even more peaceful and focused. But it is just a front...

    May I also remind all bleading heart sjw's about the cultural revolution so we don't droll over Chinese 'harmony' and 'order' least we invite it in our society. Thanks!

  55. Re:HS in China? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Results:

    Prasing Hangzhou: + 2 Social Points.

    Badmouthing Shanghai: - 4 Social Points.

    Acknowledging the existance of the poor: - 20 Social Points.

    Badmouthing China: - 20 Social Points

    Acknowledging lack of universal indoor plumming to westerners: - 40 Social Points

    Use of a western propaganda web site: - 40 Social Points

    Final Total: ShanghaiBill: - 122 Social Points.

    ShanghaiBill, the repomen will be around shortly to escort you to your new living arrangements that you qualify for.

    Yours,

    The Social Credit Score System of China.

  56. Re: HS in China? by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

    My grandparents didn't have indoor plumbing until about 1960. This was Minnesota.

  57. Monkey with a Machine Gun by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As computer technology progresses further and further, it has become clear to me that the average person's quality of life does not strictly increase in response. Instead, it expands the cone of possible human action, which includes both reasonable and unreasonable plans. While there's many obvious benefits to the internet's proliferation, there also many not-so-obvious drawbacks it brings with it. The most notable drawback being the mass surveillance campaigns that every major state is performing. These campaigns have now reached the level where they are no longer simply monitoring human behavior, but connecting to AI-driven server farms attempting to automatically "correct" human behavior. It's truly frightening the amount of rationalization people are willing to do so that they don't have to feel uncomfortable by that fact.

    Provably, at no other point in human history has such control over a populace of millions of people been possible. While there has always been power-hungry individuals, not a single one of them has ever been able to maintain an accurate list of every activity that every citizen has ever performed in their life, at least until the 2010's. In the modern world, we now have nations which have never formed a cultural respect for individual liberty gaining access to nearly-ideal surveillance systems. To make matters worse, the western countries that have previously been forerunners in human rights are now regressing on their positions as well.

    I don't have solution for how to reverse this trend, and I don't believe there is any easy solution either. However, if matters do not change, it's clear that we will all be living underneath technologically-enabled oligarchies. Frankly, I don't consider that a life worth living.

  58. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stereotypes work great when anticipating the actions of a large group of people. Yes, they frequently fail when talking about an individual, but in the absence of other information you can play the numbers and usually come out ahead.

  59. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by Aighearach · · Score: 1

    They have internet in China, you could probably actually go and talk to some real Chinese women and find out if it is true. Or even just check twitter.

  60. Re:What happened to good old-fashioned test scores by Aighearach · · Score: 1

    I'm even a Harry Harrison fan, but that series was just crap that he spewed out quickly to make his publisher happy between more serious creative efforts.

    I know, many teenagers find it entertaining. Try reading it again though, now, and see if it still seems insightful.

  61. Re:What happened to good old-fashioned test scores by Aighearach · · Score: 1

    Maybe it is not even intended to help the teacher, but to help the student by teaching meritorious behavior.

  62. Re:HS in China? by Aighearach · · Score: 1

    If you consider bustle to be an insult, just give up and don't try to comprehend Chinese concepts of Merit.

  63. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by stroxor · · Score: 1

    They are scared as hell

  64. Attention All Maggots! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The beatings will continue until our Attitude ratings improve sufficiently*!

    * Sufficiently meaning, satisfactory in the arbitrary and unpredictable eyes of the Great Leader.

  65. Adaptation by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    I think they are raising a generation of Chinese people that will master emotion masquerade.

  66. You are fucking retarded. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are fucking retarded.

  67. So who is fault? by Doctrinsograce · · Score: 1

    My uncle was a professor of education. He used to say that when a student fails it is the fault of the teacher. This sounds more like they think that the student is at fault for being bored mindless by a lousy teacher? Why not hide the scoring from anyone... then eliminate the teachers whose students show the lowest attentiveness scores?

  68. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by painandgreed · · Score: 1

    You've clearly never been to China.

    Here, I can stereotype too. All Americans are fat, lazy and materialistic.

    Hey now! We're not all lazy!

  69. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At least I have evidence and experience while you have absolutely none. So who is more qualified to speak on the subject?

    Trying growing up, travelling and cultivating yourself instead of pulling things from your ass.

  70. Re: Mechanisms of masturbation. by dcw3 · · Score: 1

    Yeah, they're all individuals (FWIW, I've lived in several countries and been to 50+). But, as with most stereotypes, they're usually a reason for them. If I said "Asians like rice", or "Germans like wurst", clearly there are likely some that don't, but that doesn't make my statement wrong. Oh, and here's another...ACs are whiny cunts.

    --
    Just another day in Paradise