Big brother returns

It has become commonplace to note the panoptical effect of new technologies. We also know that advances in IT play a solid role in intelligence efforts.

So this news, relayed by the NYT and Boing Boing, is not surprising per se, but its extent is: More than 20,000 surveillance cameras are being installed in Southern China. An American company will analyze the videos in order to track suspects' faces and identify unwanted activities.
With this endeavor, big brother has just gotten bigger.