On: China can apparently now identify citizens based o...

[marmaduke]

The accelerometer in a smart phone might be sufficient to identify gait parameters which map to stress, relaxation etc. Why bother with cameras?

[muraiki → marmaduke]

If the goal is to police and/or suppress, using this system means that your targets don't have to carry a phone (and that you don't need to have access to the phone's data).

[mentat → muraiki]

There are ways to induce people to carry the instruments of their surveillance with them (including phones).

[mrkstu → mentat]

If you do that, you can just simplify it down to an automatic bluetooth beacon that identifies you to the government- and if you don't carry one you're not allowed out in public.

I think they just don't want to be quite so blatant and obvious about it.