Japanese police said Thursday they will introduce artificial intelligence technology to identify social media posts through which people are recruited to commit crimes like robbery and fraud.
Starting Friday, the National Police Agency will use AI to look for posts promising large payments for yami baito, an expression implying shadowy illegal work, coupled with wordings that solicit people to conduct other more specific criminal acts such as transporting or receiving money obtained via fraudulent means.
The concept of yami baito grabbed headlines in Japan recently after a group of Japanese men, arrested earlier this year for running scams from the Philippines, was alleged to have recruited individuals via social media to carry out a series of robberies across Japan, with at least one resulting in a murder.