Chinese businesses and the military using “emotional surveillance technology”

> Deayea, a technology company in Shanghai, said its brain monitoring devices were worn regularly by train drivers working on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line, one of the busiest of its kind in the world.

> The sensors, built in the brim of the driver’s hat, could measure various types of brain activities, including fatigue and attention loss with an accuracy of more than 90 per cent, according to the company’s website.

> If the driver dozed off, for instance, the cap would trigger an alarm in the cabin to wake him up.

Well, I can't argue about this: the technology has unquestionably had the effect of causing some people to be reassigned, some disciplined, etc. But absurd hearsay comments about increased profits? I think some science and some numbers are required.

(I read the SCMP article of which this was a summary and it didn't have any higher journalistic value).

Mass surveillance is often in the back of one’s mind, but there are few physical reminders. Being fitted with equipment that is intended to read your brainwaves definitely would alter the perception of being observed and cause a spike in productivity by itself, without any actual managerial interventions needed.

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho-Pass

So, I expected automated "flag" generation to become widespread. Merge with some context information, and you'll receive either surveillance or a tap on the shoulder when you get too emotional in an "non-typical" or "elevated security" context.

I, too, am horrified by it. Especially as someone who is a bit atypical, such as to how much extraneous human noise can frustrate me when I'm trying to focus. I don't "act out", but my pulse and other biometrics will spike.

Now, that may equate with "undesirable behavior". Because I'm trying to tune out some noisy people and concentrate.