With brain-scanning hats, China signals it has no interest in workers’ privacy

Headgear with EEG sensors built in is giving Chinese companies a new level of power over their staff, despite the technology’s limitations.
The news: The South China Morning Post reports that employees working in factories, the military, and on trains are being monitored for sudden changes in emotional state.
Does it actually work? Yeah, probably not. Being able to gather enough information to get a $315 million boost in profits—which is what one firm, State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power, claims in the piece—is incredibly doubtful.
Why it matters: If it’s just an attempt to talk up a technological “breakthrough,” that’s one thing. But if it really is being relied upon to re-assign workers—or potentially even terminate them—China is leading the way in workplace surveillance in a way that stands to benefit no one.