Officials in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou are using their access to the software to target what they call “uncivilised behaviour”: people wearing their nightwear down to the shops.
This week, there was outrage in the city of six million people after its urban management department published surveillance photos taken by street cameras of seven residents wearing pyjamas in public along with parts of their names, government identification numbers and the locations where their “uncivilized behaviour” had taken place.
Facial recognition has become widely used across China in recent years, used for everything from racially profiling minorities to ordering fried chicken.
But in attacking the pyjama wearers – a common practice in the country, especially among older women – the local government found they may have gone too far.
“When celebrities wear pyjamas to an event, they are called fashionable,” one social media user wrote. “But when ordinary people wear pyjamas to walk around on the streets, they are called uncivilised.”
Officials quickly offered an apology, saying the way they released the information was not handled properly.
We must agree pyjamas are pretty comfy to get around in – and as they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Just no Ugg boots please.
