Microsoft president Brad Smith warns 'life will become like George Orwell's 1984' by 2024 if lawmakers don't protect the public ag

speaking to BBC Panorama Brad Smith said laws are needed to control AI
Artificial Intelligence can take vast datasets and make predictions and calls
An example given in the show was China using it for surveillance on citizens
Smith says the world is catching up with science fiction and we must act now


Life for humans will 'become like Orwell's 1984' by 2024 if laws aren't introduced to protect the public from artificial intelligence, warns Microsoft president Brad Smith.

George Orwell's 1984 is a dystopian fiction published in 1949 that focuses on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance and regimentation of society.

Smith predicts that the kind of controlled life suggested by Orwell 'could come to pass in 2024' if more isn't done to curb the spread of artificial intelligence.


It is going to be difficult for lawmakers to catch up with rapidly advancing artificial intelligence and surveillance technology, he told BBC Panorama during a special exploring China's increasing use of AI to monitor its citizens.

The Microsoft president said: 'If we don't enact the laws that will protect the public in the future, we are going to find the technology racing ahead.'

During the special episode, Panorama uncovered 'shocking and chilling' evidence showing that China uses AI to monitor its population, including technology that claims to be able to 'recognise emotions' and determine guilt.

That is according to a software engineer who also provided documentary evidence to the programme.

Speaking anonymously because he fears for his safety, he told Panorama that he helped to install the system in police stations in Xinjiang province which is home to 12 million mainly Muslim Uyghurs.

He said: 'We placed the emotion detection camera three metres from the subject. It is similar to a lie detector but this is a far more advanced technology.


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