Smile for the camera: dark side of China's emotion-recognition tech

Xi Jinping wants positive energy' but critics say the surveillance tools' racial bias and monitoring for anger or sadness should be banned

Ordinary people here in China aren't happy about this technology but they have no choice. If the police say there have to be cameras in a community, people will just have to live with it. There's always that demand and we're here to fulfil it."

So says Chen Wei at Taigusys, a company specialising in emotion recognition technology, the latest evolution in the broader world of surveillance systems that play a part in nearly every aspect of Chinese society.