Social Credit - 1984 comes 2020.

[Rum]

China is doing this shit. Don't be fooled that they are something they would rather we didn't think they are. http://technode.com/2017/08/23/chinas-s ... y-culture/

China's Social Credit System: AI-driven panopticon or fragmented foundation for a sincerity culture?

China’s Social Credit System, a government initiative which aims to assign a “social credit” rating to every citizen based on their financial behavior, personal information, and online activity, has earned a bad reputation abroad, including comparisons to an episode of “Black Mirror.” According to critics, the data-based, AI-driven system is more suited for comprehensive social control than keeping tabs on individuals’ financial state like credit score rankings devised in the West.

The trouble with most of this characterization is that it fails to recognize just how fragmented digital credit score-keeping is in China: it is not a single system, but many.

“I think the biggest misconception about the Social Credit System is that it is this evenly implemented all-seeing central bureaucratic surveillance apparatus,” Shazeda Ahmed, a Berkeley Ph.D. student researching the topic, told TechNode.

Social credit systems are currently being trialed by several provinces and cities, with Shanghai being one of the more famous ones with its “Sincere Shanghai” app. Each area decides its own rules for score keeping.

The ultimate goal is to lay out foundations for an encompassing Social Credit System by 2020 which will integrate not only individual, but also government, legal, and enterprise scoring. The system aims to compensate for underdeveloped credit scoring, but it also aspires to establish a “sincerity culture” by addressing rampant fraud, corruption, and mistrust in the country. And unlike traditional credit scoring which was established by financial agencies and institutions, a significant part of China’s Social Credit System is being built with technology.

Alibaba and Tencent—The social credit vanguard

After the Chinese State Council laid out an outline for building a Social Credit System in 2014, China’s central bank authorized eight Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba and Tencent, to conduct social credit pilot testing. According to Pennsylvania State University Ph.D. candidate Wang Keren, China’s tech giants were the vanguard in building “social trust” by developing e-commerce and online payments rating systems.

“The real drivers of this social credit reform are corporate actors—most notably this emergent generation Chinese ‘new-industrialists’ such as Jack Ma [founder and chairman of Alibaba] and Ma Huateng [founder and chairman of Tencent],” Wang told Technode.

Sesame Credit, run by Alibaba’s Ant Financial, is the now biggest social credit pilot built on the company’s huge trove of information on consumers. The platform, which has seen massive growth in recent years, provides credit information on individuals, as well as enterprises.

Alibaba has been promoting its Sesame Credit by offering users with good scores discounts on air tickets and hotels, deposit waivers on bike and car rentals, and even fast-tracked visas from countries such as Singapore and Luxembourg. The service is also being used as an authentication method for users of the Chinese version of Airbnb and dating site Baihe.

[Brian Peacock]

I for one welcome and applaud the excellent work the Chinese government have undertaken to improve the lives of ordinary Chinese citizens. Western governments could learn a lot from the magnificent achievements of a truly visionary leadership which has never wavered in its commitment to bring ever-greater peace and prosperity to the nation, and to the region at large. China surely leads the way as the World transitions into a new, morally superior, golden-age of commerce and social well-begin.

[JimC]

I can scarcely credit it...

[Tyrannical]

China is just Nazi Germany in slooow motion.

[laklak]

Slant eyed Nazis, the lot of them. Fucking Yellow Peril, can't trust 'em. Good at building railroads, though, and taking care of the feral cat problem.

[pErvinalia]

China is just Nazi Germany in slooow motion.

You're Nazi Germany in slow motion.

[Hermit]

Bits from Leave no dark corner

Surveillance cameras will be equipped with facial recognition, body scanning and geo-tracking to cast a constant gaze over every citizen.

Smartphone apps will also be used to collect data and monitor online behaviour on a day-to-day basis.

Then, big data from more traditional sources like government records, including educational and medical, state security assessments and financial records, will be fed into individual scores.

Trial social credit systems are now in various stages of development in at least a dozen cities across China.

Several companies are working with the state to nationalise the system, co-ordinate and configure the technology, and finalise the algorithms that will determine the national citizen score.
...

When social credit is fully implemented, what she puts into the trolley could impact her social score.

Buying too much alcohol might suggest dependence; she’ll lose a couple of points.

But buying a pack of nappies might suggest responsibility; she’ll gain a few points.

...

But social credit will be affected by more than just internet browsing and shopping decisions.

Who your friends and family are will affect your score. If your best friend or your dad says something negative about the government, you’ll lose points too.

Who you date and ultimately partner with will also affect social credit.

...

Already, about 10 million people have been punished in the trial areas of social credit.

Liu Hu is just one of them.

In many societies, he would be celebrated. Not in China.

Liu Hu is an investigative journalist who has uncovered corruption at the top levels of the Party and solved serial murder cases.

He says the government considers him an enemy.

Hu lost his social credit when he was charged with a speech crime and now finds himself locked out of society due to his low score.

In 2015, Hu lost a defamation case after he accused an official of extortion.

He was made to publish an apology and pay a fine but when the court demanded an additional fee, he refused.

Last year, the 43-year-old found himself blacklisted as “dishonest” under a pilot social credit scheme.

“There are a lot of people who are on the blacklist wrongly, but they can’t get off it,” says Hu.

It’s destroyed his career and isolated him, and he now fears for his family’s future.

The social credit system has closed down his travel options and kept him under effective house arrest in his hometown of Chongqing.

In an apartment above the streets of Chongqing city, Hu tries to use a phone app to book train tickets to Xi’an. The attempt is rejected.

“[The app] says it fails to make a booking and my access to high-speed rail is legally restricted,” he explains.

Hu’s social media accounts, where he published much of his investigative journalism, have also been shut down.

Hu claims his combined Wechat and Weibo accounts had two million followers at their peak but are now censored.

I see no obstacle to this happening in what are so called democratic nations. Like in China it will be marketed as working for a safe and stable environment. There will be enough people who'll approve to set up similar systems here, and they too will be abused by commercial/government powers, for what can possibly go wrong?

[laklak]

People will line up to get chipped and bar coded. They already pay companies to listen to their every word. They pay to have their DNA analyzed and cataloged so they can tell if they're really Irish with a little bit of French. Wouldn't surprise me if Alexa isn't streaming video to Big Brother already. Little urban drones, living in their tiny apartments, taking their public transport, eating their non-GMO Soylent Green, all controlled by their benign and loving government, exactly like a herd of beef cattle. Why would you worry if you're not doing anything wrong? Resistance is futile.

Maybe those off grid survivalists in their heavily fortified mountain redoubts aren't so crazy after all.

[BarnettNewman]

What's the worst that could happen?

[Cunt]

Am I paranoid?

There was a product being sold, called 'off-pocket', which was a physical wallet to contain your phone, which also happened to be a Faraday Cage...

I wonder why it never took off...? Is anyone even concerned? Facebook, Google and Rationalia have ALL been harvesting our data, using it in ways we can't guess...and I really don't think anyone cares.

The Ratz police have never busted me for smoking weed, anyway...

[Hermit]

What's the worst that could happen?

Microchip implant. If it detects you're out of your authorised area or you have rebellious thoughts it'll trigger a small explosive in your skull. Of course you'll have no say in what is your authorised area and what is not, nor will you even be told what constitutes a rebellious thought. It'll be all automated and there'll be lots and lots of false alarms, but keeping society safe and stable has a price.

The collateral damage will be acceptable, to those who are exempt from wearing those implants because they make the rules. The other 99.9% find it unacceptable, but there's nothing they can do about it. If they even think about doing something about it, that little device will blow their brains out. So they talk themselves into how happy they are, thanks to the implant making society so perfectly stable and safe.

[Hermit]

Am I paranoid?

There was a product being sold, called 'off-pocket', which was a physical wallet to contain your phone, which also happened to be a Faraday Cage...

I wonder why it never took off...?.

Not paranoid, but I'd rather not say what I think you are.

As for the Faraday cage, would it stop your phone from receiving call signals?

[laklak]

Yeah would have to, otherwise it wouldn't stop an electronic eavesdropper. I've seen lots of people carrying metal RFID blocking wallets for credit cards.

[NineBerry]

I for one welcome and applaud the excellent work the Chinese government have undertaken to improve the lives of ordinary Chinese citizens. Western governments could learn a lot from the magnificent achievements of a truly visionary leadership which has never wavered in its commitment to bring ever-greater peace and prosperity to the nation, and to the region at large. China surely leads the way as the World transitions into a new, morally superior, golden-age of commerce and social well-begin.

Congratulations, you have earned 15 points, comrad!

[Cunt]

Yeah would have to, otherwise it wouldn't stop an electronic eavesdropper. I've seen lots of people carrying metal RFID blocking wallets for credit cards.

Showing they believe in the tech...but I have never seen anyone practice keeping their 'smartphone' in such a case.

I've been considering making the console of my truck into such a cage. Weird that it isn't more popular, though, with so many people chattering about privacy concerns.