Source: The Citizen Lab
Citizen Lab researchers document how generative AI systems—particularly those trained on social media data and facial recognition models—are lowering technical and financial barriers for governments to identify and target dissidents living abroad, a capability previously limited to well-resourced intelligence agencies. AI automates the labor-intensive work of cross-platform identity linking and travel pattern analysis, allowing regimes like China and Iran to scale repression beyond their borders at a fraction of the traditional cost. Smaller, less sophisticated governments can now conduct operations that once required NSA-level capacity.