中國利用人工智能預測犯罪

China, a surveillance state where authorities have unchecked access to citizens’ histories, is seeking to look into their future with technology designed to predict and prevent crime.

中國是一個監(jiān)控國家，當局可以不受限制地對公民過往的言行進行審查。如今，中國正試圖利用旨在預測和防止犯罪的技術來窺視他們的未來。

Companies are helping police develop artificial intelligence they say will help them identify and apprehend suspects before criminal acts are committed.

中國企業(yè)正在協(xié)助警方開發(fā)人工智能，并稱這將有助于警方在犯罪行為實施之前識別和逮捕嫌疑人。

“If we use our smart systems and smart facilities well, we can know beforehand . . . who might be a terrorist, who might do something bad,” Li Meng, vice-minister of science and technology, said on Friday.

中國科技部副部長李萌上周五表示，如果能好好利用智能系統(tǒng)和智能設備，就能提前獲知哪些人可能是恐怖分子，哪些人可能做壞事。

Facial recognition company Cloud Walk has been trialling a system that uses data on individuals’ movements and behaviour — for instance visits to shops where weapons are sold — to assess their chances of committing a crime. Its software warns police when a citizen’s crime risk becomes dangerously high, allowing the police to intervene.

人臉識別公司云從科技(Cloud Walk)一直在測試一種系統(tǒng)，利用個人活動和行為的數(shù)據(jù)——比如出入銷售武器的商店——評估他們犯罪的可能性。當一名公民的犯罪風險達到危險級別時，該公司的軟件會提醒警方，讓警察提前介入。

“The police are using a big-data rating system to rate highly suspicious groups of people based on where they go and what they do,” a company spokesperson told the Financial Times.

云從科技一名發(fā)言人對英國《金融時報》表示：“警方正利用一個大數(shù)據(jù)評級系統(tǒng)，基于人們前往的地點和行為，對高度可疑的人群進行評級。”

Risks rise if the individual “frequently visits transport hubs and goes to suspicious places like a knife store”, the spokesperson added.

該發(fā)言人補充說，如果一個人“頻繁地出入交通樞紐，并前往刀具店之類的可疑地點”，該人的風險級別就會上升。

China’s authoritarian government has always amassed personal data to monitor and control its citizens — whether they are criminals or suspected of politically sensitive activity. But new technology, from phones and computers to fast-developing AI software, is amplifying its capabilities.

中國的威權政府一直通過收集個人數(shù)據(jù)來監(jiān)視和控制本國公民——無論他們是罪犯，還是被懷疑從事政治敏感活動。但是，包括手機、電腦、快速發(fā)展的人工智能軟件在內的新技術正在增強政府的監(jiān)視能力。

These are being used to crack down on even the most minor of infractions — facial recognition cameras, for instance, are also being used to identify and shame jaywalkers, according to state media.

據(jù)官方媒體報道，這些技術正在用于打擊哪怕是最輕微的違規(guī)行為——例如，人臉識別攝像頭還被用于識別和曝光亂穿馬路的行人。

Mr Li said crime prediction would become an important use for AI technology in the government sphere.

李萌表示，犯罪預測將成為人工智能技術在政府領域的重要應用。

China’s crime-prediction technology relies on several AI techniques, including facial recognition and gait analysis, to identify people from surveillance footage.

中國的犯罪預測技術依賴于多種人工智能技術來通過監(jiān)控錄像識別個人，包括人臉識別和步態(tài)分析。

In addition, “crowd analysis” can be used to detect “suspicious” patterns of behaviour in crowds, for example to single out thieves from normal passengers at a train stations.

另外，“人群分析”可以用來檢測人群中“可疑”的行為模式，例如在火車站的正常乘客中識別出小偷。

As well as tracking people with a criminal history, Cloud Walk’s technology is being used to monitor “high-risk” places such as knife and hammer stores.

除了用來跟蹤有案底的人，云從科技的技術還被用來監(jiān)控“高風險”場所，比如出售刀具和榔頭的商店。

“Of course, if someone buys a kitchen knife that’s OK, but if the person also buys a sack and a hammer later, that person is becoming suspicious,” said the Cloud Walk spokesman.

云從科技發(fā)言人表示：“當然，如果有人買了把菜刀是沒問題的，但如果這個人隨后又買了一個麻袋和一把榔頭，這個人就變得可疑了。”

Another example of AI use in Chinese crime prediction is “personal re-identification” — matching someone’s identity even if spotted in different places wearing different clothes, a relatively recent technological achievement.

人工智能在中國犯罪預測中運用的另一個例子是“個人再識別”：即使觀測到某人在不同場所身穿不同服裝也能匹配其身份，這是一個相對較新的技術成果。

“We can use re-ID to find people who look suspicious by walking back and forth in the same area, or who are wearing masks,” said Leng Biao, professor of bodily recognition at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. “With re-ID, it’s also possible to reassemble someone’s trail across a large area.”

北京航空航天大學(Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)從事人體識別研究的教授冷彪表示：“我們可以用再識別技術來查找那些看起來可疑的人士，他們或者在同一個地方來來回回地走，或者戴著口罩。有了再識別技術，還可以重構某人在大片區(qū)域的蹤跡。”

However, the nascent technology raises questions about the potential for miscarriages of justice — particularly in a country that legal experts say lacks the necessary checks and balances in its judicial system.

但是這一新興技術也提出了有關可能存在誤判的問題，尤其在一個法律專家表示司法系統(tǒng)缺乏必要制衡的國家。

Although Chinese law does not allow charges to be brought against someone for a crime they have yet to commit, suspects can be charged with attempting to commit crimes.

雖然中國法律不允許對尚未犯罪的人提出犯罪指控，但可以指控嫌疑人企圖犯罪。

“In practice if there is no evidence the suspect could still be charged,” said Li Xiaolin, a partner at Beijing Weiheng Law Firm. “In China wrongful verdicts with no evidence are very hard to reverse on appeal, because of the judicial system.”

北京市煒衡律師事務所(Weiheng Law Firm)合伙人李肖霖表示：“實際上就算沒有證據(jù)，嫌疑人依然可以被指控。在中國，由于司法制度的原因，沒有證據(jù)的誤判很難在上訴時扭轉。”