France is using AI to check whether people are wearing masks on public transport

The technology won’t be used to identify and punish individuals

France is integrating new AI tools into security cameras in the Paris metro system to check whether passengers are wearing face masks.

The software, which has already been deployed elsewhere in the country, began a three-month trial in the central Chatelet-Les Halles station of Paris this week, reports Bloomberg. French startup DatakaLab, which created the program, says the goal is not to identify or punish individuals who don’t wear masks, but to generate anonymous statistical data that will help authorities anticipate future outbreaks of COVID-19 …