🚨EXCLUSIVE: Oxford University’s Department of Statistics funded by Chinese tech giant, Tencent to develop machine learning and facial recognition techniques, @BITE and @allthecitizens can reveal. 
The Oxford-Tencent ‘Collaboration on Large Scale Machine Learning’, worth £300,000, has produced 7 papers between 2018 and 2021, including at least one of direct relevance to facial recognition technology
csml.stats.ox.ac.uk/projects/tence…
csml.stats.ox.ac.uk/projects/tence…
It is not known if or how such research might be used by the Chinese state, but Tencent’s tech has been previously accused of fuelling China’s repression and human rights abuses hrw.org/news/2020/09/2…
One of the Oxford papers discusses facial recognition. In China Tencent is reported to be using similar software to ‘catch’ children playing games after a state-endorsed ‘cybercurfew’ nytimes.com/2021/07/08/bus…
Tencent’s influence in the UK has grown quickly. In 2018, as part of a UK-China trade deal, it was revealed the University of Oxford would partner with Tencent to offer new eSports courses at the university.
pandaily.com/oxford-and-ten…
pandaily.com/oxford-and-ten…
More recently, Oxford faced further criticism after it re-named the 120-year-old Wykeham Physics Professorship, the Tencent-Wykeham Professorship, in recognition of a £700,000 investment from the Chinese firm.
thetimes.co.uk/article/studen…
thetimes.co.uk/article/studen…
The Oxford partnership might fit into a pattern where “British universities have shown an astonishing level of greed and naivety in their dealings with China” thetimes.co.uk/article/hundre…
But a spokesperson from the University of Oxford said “the University has a rigorous due diligence process and Tencent has been approved as an appropriate donor by our independent Committee to Review Donations and Research Funding”.
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