March 26, 2025

Myanmar’s junta is working to connect CCTV cameras across the country with artificial intelligence systems to distinguish between “good people” and “bad people,” according to Lieutenant General Yar Pyae, Minister of the junta’s Ministry of Border Affairs.

He made the statement on March 26 during the third day of a junta-organized peace dialogue in Naypyitaw, saying the government is using AI to analyze CCTV footage and help identify suspects during criminal investigations.

Urban resistance groups, however, say the move is aimed at increasing surveillance on anti-regime protesters, resistance fighters, and underground urban guerrilla networks.

“They’ve been preparing this for a while. The main goal is to track and arrest anyone who opposes them. In their eyes, supporting them makes you a good person, and opposing them makes you bad,” one member of an urban UG group told New Day Myanmar.

The junta has also been increasingly using PSMS (Person Scrutinization and Monitoring System) technology at security checkpoints to inspect and detain civilians.

PSMS is an advanced surveillance system that incorporates AI, facial recognition, biometric data, and real-time CCTV analysis to track individuals.

CCTV camera installed on a YBS bus in Yangon, seen in 2022 (📷 Photo – MITV)