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Peking University installs facial recognition system for students and staff on campus gate

Anyone entering from the southwest can have their face scanned by a camera instead of showing their ID card in latest use of the controversial technology

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Students try out the facial recognition system to enter the southwest gate of Peking University on Wednesday. Photo: Simon Song
Nectar Gan

A top university in Beijing is using a facial recognition system to verify the identity of students and staff entering its campus, the latest application of the controversial technology in China.

Anyone going through the southwestern gate of prestigious Peking University can now have their face scanned by a camera instead of showing their ID card to security guards under a trial run of the system that started on Wednesday.

Many of the top universities in China restrict – and even ban – members of the public from visiting their campuses, and students and staff are often required to produce proof of identity before they can enter.

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The trial run of the Peking University system began on Wednesday. Photo: Simon Song
The trial run of the Peking University system began on Wednesday. Photo: Simon Song
Facial recognition systems are fast becoming part of life in China thanks to its huge population and centralised identity databases, and the government is keen to support the technology as part of its ambition to become a world leader in artificial intelligence.

The technology is used in areas such as financial services, transport and retail as well as public security, where police use it to catch criminal suspects and even to name and shame jaywalkers.

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