God and A.I. Join Forces To Stop Taiwan’s Litterbugs

It’s a drag taking out the garbage in Taiwan. Everyone has to queue in a designated area and wait for a garbage truck to arrive. If you’re late, you’ll either have to take your garbage home or ditch it when no one’s watching, making littering a serious problem.  

Developed for BaoXing Council in New Taipei City, the GOD-IS-WATCHING Behaviour Recognition Detector is an AI-powered device that detects rubbish dumpers and projects a holographic God, reminding people to dispose of their waste correctly.  

There are hundreds of Gods in Taoism, but the God that’s manifested by the GOD-IS-WATCHING Behaviour Recognition Detector is modelled on Tudigong, God of Land. Tudigong is respected like a family elder in Taiwan, making him the perfect God, stern yet friendly, to remind people not to dump their garbage illegally.  

This tongue-in-cheek divine innovation was created by Leo Burnett Taiwan, with design and development by Digitas Taiwan. 

Kevin Yang, CEO and CCO at Leo Burnett Taiwan, explains: “Most people don’t dump with bad intentions, so creating a little holographic god was the silliest way we could think of to show BaoXing Council how creativity and technology can make our neighbourhoods better.” 

After two months of planning and testing the GOD-IS-WATCHING Behaviour Recognition Detector, Leo Burnett and Digitas Taiwan launched a pilot program. Within three months, it garnered so much attention that illegal waste dropped by 73%. They are now looking to roll out this technology to more neighbourhoods in New Taipei City in future.   

Find out more about ‘God is Watching’ here.