Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019 – Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019
06:30 PM – 08:00 PM
US/Central
Please note that this program takes place offsite at Junior League, 1811 Briar Oaks Lane, Houston, Texas 77027. Free parking is available at the venue.
By 2020, experts estimate China will have installed almost 300 million surveillance cameras and will spend upwards of $30 billion in the coming years on a wide variety of surveillance technologies often augmented by artificial intelligence, such as facial recognition, DNA profiling, iris scanning, voice recognition, and the monitoring of internet and phone usage.
China states these advancements reduce crime and strengthen public order. Large digital billboards in some cities show the faces and names of jaywalkers and people who have unpaid debts. These ever-expanding surveillance systems are also an effective means to monitor political dissent.
In addition, media sources report that these methods are used to profile minorities. In the majority Muslim province of Xinjiang, an estimated 1 million Uighurs have been designated and held in re-education camps. In other parts of China, the technology allows for a form of automated racial and ethnic profiling. Certain facial recognition systems have been developed exclusively to look for and identify ethnically Uighur individuals.
Beyond China, government-backed Chinese companies are selling billions of dollars' worth of surveillance systems to nations such as Venezuela, Germany, Kenya, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates. While technology was once seen as a tool to expand democracy and equality, many now fear it may become the strongest weapon against them.
Tickets must be purchased through the World Affairs Council website here. Asia Society members can use the discount code ASTC at checkout for free admission to this event.
Free for Members, $25 Nonmembers
Schedule
6:30 p.m. Registration
7 p.m. Program
About the Speaker
Paul Mozur is a technology reporter for The New York Times based in Shanghai. Along with writing about Asia's biggest tech companies, he covers cybersecurity, emerging internet cultures, censorship and the intersection of geopolitics and technology in Asia. A Mandarin speaker, he was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in China and Taiwan prior to joining The New York Times in 2014. He cut his teeth covering smuggling, wild boars and the courts for The Standard in Hong Kong, and got his start as an editorial assistant at The Far Eastern Economic Review.
Asia Society Texas Center Business & Policy Programs, Endowed by
Huffington Foundation
Business and Policy programs at Asia Society Texas Center are presented by Bank of America, Muffet Blake, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, United Airlines, and Wells Fargo. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, Nancy Pollok Guinee, and Mary Lawrence Porter, as well as The Brown Foundation, Inc. and Houston Endowment. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Asia Society Texas Center, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming.
Business & Policy Presenting Sponsors
Presenting Partner
HOURS & ADMISSION
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Wednesday, Friday - Sunday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thursday (free admission all day), 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Closed Monday and Tuesday and major holidays. - Free for Members, $25 Nonmembers
Directions & Parking
- Junior League, 1811 Briar Oaks Lane Houston, Texas 77027
Special Offers / Dining
Java Lava Cafe
Serving 100 percent premium Kona coffee from KarmaSu Coffee Farm in Hawaii, plus breakfast, lunch, and sweet treats, Java Lava Cafe is open for extended breakfast hours Tuesday–Saturday.
Hours
Tuesday – Saturday, 8:30 am – 3 pm
https://asiasociety.org/texas/java-lava-cafe
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