--- title: "China Built an AI to Detect Corruption and Officials Shut it Down" description: "The Chinese government built an AI that finds signs of local corruption — but officials in many areas are shutting it down." date: "2019-02-04" modified: "2019-02-04" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-ai-corruption" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "china" - "corruption" - "the digest" --- # China Built an AI to Detect Corruption and Officials Shut it Down ![The Chinese government built an AI that finds signs of local corruption — but local officials in many areas are shutting it down.]() *\Image: Pixabay/Victor Tangermann\* ## Zero Trust Since 2012, a sophisticated artificial intelligence has dug through big data to find signs of corruption in the Chinese government — but local officials in many areas are now shutting it down, [according to the *South China Morning Post*](). One researcher involved in the program, which is portentously called "Zero Trust," told the Hong Kong newspaper that local officials might be shutting the program down because they don't "feel quite comfortable with the new technology." But the *SCMP* has another explanation: the AI works too well. ## Corruption Eruption Zero Trust sifts through data from banks, property and construction records, and even satellite data to flag signs of corruption, according to the paper. It might notice a suspicious transfer of money, for instance, or a new car or property registered to the name of a government official's family or friends. "We just use the machine’s result as reference," Zhang Yi, an official in a province that's still using the software, told the *SCMP*. "We need to check and verify its validity. The machine cannot pick up the phone and call the person with a problem. The final decision is always made by humans." ## Algorithmic Justice Though corruption in China is [reportedly widespread](), officials are probably right to be suspicious of a black box algorithm that can bring down the hammer of justice without explaining its reasoning. "AI may quickly point out a corrupt official, but it is not very good at explaining the process it has gone through to reach such a conclusion," an unidentified researcher who worked on Zero Trust told the *SCMP*. "Although it gets it right in most cases, you need a human to work closely with it." **READ MORE:** [Is China’s Corruption-Busting AI System ‘Zero Trust’ Being Turned off for Being Too Efficient?]() \[*South China Morning Post*\] ***More on algorithms:*** [Algorithms Are No Better at Predicting Repeat Offenders Than Inexperienced Humans]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()