The Effects of AI in our Social Lives

There are street patrol robots in China that are used to monitor people on the street. The robots are able to detect fevers from 5 meters away and can tell if a person is wearing a mask or not. If a person has a fever or is not wearing a mask then an alert sound will be played, this makes sure that the street doesn’t have people that may cause virus transmission. Drones are used to spread awareness and keep lockdown in place.

Moreover, AI is also used to manage the pandemic by using thermal imaging to scan public spaces for people with a high fever who could potentially be infected. To prevent virus transmission from people entering China or people entering different cities, at airports and train stations across China, infrared cameras are used to scan crowds for high temperatures. They are sometimes used with a facial recognition system, which can pinpoint the individual with a high temperature and whether they are wearing a surgical mask.

As well as delivering food through robots, Baidu is producing infrared cameras

that use computer vision to scan crowds. It is reported that these cameras can scan 200 persons per minute and will recognize those whose body temperature exceeds 37.3 degrees. The only downfall of the technology being glasses as they reflect heat energy so the reading is unreliable. Since their system also has facial recognition software, it enforces the quarantine rules and if a person is outside with no mask they will get a call from the authorities.

References:

Naudé, W. (2020). Artificial Intelligence Against Covid-19: An Early Review. Retrieved 3 June 2020, from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3568314