Data-Centric Authoritarianism
Summary
The report examines how China is developing advanced technologies like AI surveillance, neurotechnologies, quantum computing, and digital currencies that enable unprecedented data collection and social control. These technologies pose significant risks to privacy and democratic freedoms.
Review
This comprehensive report provides a critical analysis of China's emerging technological ecosystem designed to enhance state surveillance and control. By examining four key technological domains - AI surveillance, neurotechnologies, quantum technologies, and digital currencies - the document reveals how Beijing is creating sophisticated tools for monitoring and potentially manipulating populations. The research highlights not just the domestic implications within China, but the global potential for these technologies to spread authoritarian digital governance models to other countries.
The report's key contribution lies in demonstrating how these technologies collectively represent a new paradigm of 'data-centric authoritarianism', where granular data collection enables unprecedented social control. By providing detailed technical assessments and geopolitical context, the analysis offers a nuanced understanding of how emerging technologies could fundamentally transform the relationship between states and citizens. The authors emphasize that while these technologies could offer governance improvements, they also pose profound risks to individual privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic participation.
Key Points
- China is pioneering advanced surveillance technologies that can monitor and potentially influence human behavior
- Emerging technologies like AI and neurotechnologies enable unprecedented types of personal data collection
- PRC-developed technologies are increasingly being exported to authoritarian and semi-democratic regimes worldwide