Chinese Officials Are Shutting Down AI For Corrupt Detection

Harin - Feb 06, 2019

The Chinese officials in many areas have decided to shut down an AI system detecting corruption after it was put in use in 2012.

Ever since 2012, China has been using a highly developed artificial intelligence (AI) to go through data to search out corruption signs in the country’s government. However, in many areas, local officials have decided to shut this system down, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

One researcher of the program, which is named “Zero Trust,” said in the interview with the Hong Kong newspaper that because local officials don’t “feel quite comfortable with the new technology,” they might put the operation of the program to a halt.

However, to explain this, the SCMP has another theory: it might be that the artificial intelligence works too brilliantly.

Zero Trust rummages through construction and property records, bank data. It even goes as far as satellite data to find any possible sign of corruption. A questionable money transfer might be noticed and flagged by the system. Or it can be a new property or car which was registered to a family member or friends of a government official.

Zhang Yi who is an official working in a province that is still utilizing the AI, said:

Despite the widespread of corruption in China, it is probably understandable that officials are suspicious of a system that can drag down the justice hammer without an explanation.

Zero Trust’s unidentified researcher said to the SCMP: