Abstract:
The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyze the development of artificial intelligence and to understand how it has been used in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic in China. Firstly, I will briefly present the history of artificial intelligence, from its invention to the present day, analyzing the most significant stages on its evolution. Secondly, I am going to focus on the history of AI in China, listing Chinese government’s most recent projects and policies on the development of artificial intelligence. Then, in order to understand how AI has been useful in limiting the spread of the pandemic, I will analyze some case studies such as Alipay Health Code and Tencent’s Close Contact Detector. Finally, I will focus on the impact of artificial intelligence on privacy and the security of Chinese citizens, trying to answer the question: freedom or security?
