Inside China's Vast New Experiment in Social Ranking

1,698 Views | 2 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by GuerrillaPack
PackFansXL
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Wired link to a relatively long article. There are several implications to the use of one's digital data we've all heard fearmongers get excited about; however, this article demonstrates just how rapidly the digital Big Brother concept is developing in China. Some of the real world ramifications already occurring are shocking to observe and certainly discouraging for our future societies.

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Ant Financial wasn't the only entity keen on using data to measure people's worth. Coincidentally or not, in 2014 the Chinese government announced it was developing what it called a system of "social credit." In 2014, the State Council, China's governing cabinet, publicly called for the establishment of a nationwide tracking system to rate the reputations of individuals, businesses, and even government officials. The aim is for every Chinese citizen to be trailed by a file compiling data from public and private sources by 2020, and for those files to be searchable by fingerprints and other biometric characteristics. The State Council calls it a "credit system that covers the whole society."

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I began to check my score obsessively, but because scores are only reevaluated monthly, the number didn't budge. Each time I opened the app, I encountered an alarming orange screen. In the foreground was a gauge in the shape of a half-circle, with a dial showing that I had reached only a quarter of my potential. An article on the portal Sohu.com explained that my score put me in the category of "common folk." The page read: "Cultural level is not high. Retired or nearly retired." In China, where many elderly lost out on years of education during the Cultural Revolution, this was not a compliment. According to Sohu, only 5 percent of the population had scores worse than mine.

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Chinese people who have been branded untrustworthy are getting the first glimpse of what a unified system might mean. One day last May, Liu Hu, a 42-year-old journalist, opened a travel app to book a flight. But when he entered his name and national ID number, the app informed him that the transaction wouldn't go through because he was on the Supreme People's Court blacklist. This listliterally, the List of Dishonest Peopleis the same one that is integrated into Zhima Credit. In 2015 Liu had been sued for defamation by the subject of a story he'd written, and a court had ordered him to pay $1,350. He paid the fine, and even photographed the bank transfer slip and messaged the photo to the judge in the case. Perplexed as to why he was still on the list, he contacted the judge and learned that, while transferring his fine, he had entered the wrong account number. He hurried to transfer the money again, following up to make sure the court had received it. This time the judge did not reply.
NatePait94
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Talk about mass suicides
metcalfmafia
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What's next? Bar codes on their necks for people to scan?
GuerrillaPack
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Technology can empower humanity, but in the wrong hands makes it easier to enslave us.

We must resist the move to a cashless society.
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