If you’ve ever wondered how a real life PartiRank system would work, look no further than our very own China. Okay, I know you’re picturing the whole country, but you need to zoom in a little bit. Little more. W-w-w-w- wait. Back up. Tiny bit. THERE! Stop right there! See that town right there? Suining? That’s where our story begins.
Back in 2010, Suining officials began to make assessments of each of their 1.4 million citizens over the age of 14. The average citizen started out with 1000 points, and points were added to or subtracted from that score based on a range of behaviors. Things like performing charitable acts, helping the elderly, and even buying diapers were enough to significantly raise your score, while driving drunk or bribing officials really tanked it. Points were then tallied up and citizens were given a grade of A, B, C, or D. Just like school! “A” citizens, those with higher ratings, were given lots of great perks like priority for school admission and top-notch employment. “D” citizens, on the other hand, were probably pretty salty. Their low scores meant that they could be denied licenses, permits, and even access to public transportation. Inspired by Suining, other cities across the nation have begun to implement their own social credit systems. These systems are not identical to Suining’s, but they’re pretty close. So close, in fact, that corporations like AliPay WeChat have begun to gather user data in an attempt to create a more streamlined and efficient social credit systems. They collect information such as your cell phone number, and scans of your national ID card, license, plates, and engine numbers. Through contacts added on the in-app social network, Alipay’s system, which is called Zhima Credit, can even factor in your social relationships when considering how to score you. If your friends have high scores, you’re in luck! Their good behavior really does rub off on you! Well, at least on your social credit score. And watch out for those low-scoring friends. They can really bring you down. Literally. No seriously. Connecting with “bad people” makes you look like a bad person. I guess your mom wasn’t that paranoid about a “wrong crowd,” after all. And as if that weren’t enough, Zhima Credit has cut a deal with the Chinese government for access to one of their blacklists. This list, which names more than 6 million people who have defaulted on court fines, is integrated into Zhima’s database and becomes yet another factor in determining a social credit score. But Big Brother won’t stop there. The Chinese government has released plans for an initiative which would assign a social credit score to all its citizens. Every. Single. One. All of them. 1.4 billion people. The government plans to integrate data gathered in local systems into one giant, national system, developed by Baidu, a massive tech corporation. The government partnership with Baidu will help develop facial and voice recognition technologies which can be used to identify government dissenters online. And it doesn’t stop there. With more than 600 million security cameras on the streets, Chinese officials can easily pinpoint pedestrians and drivers who violate social norms and adjust their scores accordingly. Add to this mix the government’s stockpile of blacklists, and we’ve quite a formidable system on our hands. And with potential consequences including the denial of basic public services, like transportation, one is left to question how ethical this system can be. Those living in poverty will struggle to raise their scores, as they can’t afford to make charitable donations or buy big-ticket, Chinese made items. The government claims the goal is a better, purer, and kinder society. But how can we be sure this system isn’t tyranny in disguise?
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Dr. PolakWrangler of the attendant ne'er-do-wells. Archives
May 2018
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