Engineering social behaviour in China

[hatcheckgirl]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-31/chinas-social-credit-system-punishes-untrustworthy-citizens/9596204

 

By allocating social point to desirable social behaviours and punishing those considered "undesirable", China seeks to create a better society.  The article brings out several schemes which, if they were all integrated, would give the Chinese government the immense ability to control society's behaviours.  Scary stuff!

 

Beijing's ambitious attempt to create a Social Credit System (SCS) by 2020 — that is, a proposed national system designed to value and engineer better individual behaviour by establishing the scores of 1.4 billion citizens and "awarding the trustworthy" and "punishing the disobedient"...

 

For example, Sesame Credit is a private credit system developed by the Alibaba-affiliated company Ant Financial.

The system uses algorithms and data from Alipay, Alibaba's massively popular payment platform, to rate people by their consumption behaviour and preference among other factors.

"Someone who plays video games for 10 hours a day, for example, would be considered an idle person," Li Yingyun, Sesame Credit's technology director, told Chinese media.

"Someone who frequently buys diapers would be considered as probably a parent, who on balance is more likely to have a sense of responsibility."

[Thesauron]

This, or similar things, is done to some extent in all societies. Companies are extremely interested. And governments too. You don’t even have to punish people do who not do as you wish. Positive reinforcement works just fine. Nudging. Just make it easier to do ‘right’.

[hatcheckgirl]

I know, everything is logged, geotagged, cookies collected, etc.  That's the times we are living in.  But we are talking China.  And are any political entities really looking after our "good", or are they trying to manage our lives to their own advantage?  This sort of power in the wrong hands is..... you know what it is.

[Luezette]

Sounds like control to me, as in controlling people which, in turn, sounds like close to a dictatorship. 

Scary. And I wonder whose bright idea that was, though we here already know (hint: he's invisible). 

Edited March 31, 2018 by Luezette

[Myew]

I first heard about this back in 2015... you can be absolutely 100% sure that Satan is planning to use these means to oppress those trying to remain politically neutral. You won't even be able to get public transport without it. (Luke 14:33) In the same way, you may be sure that not one of you who does not say good-bye to all his belongings can be my disciple. (Philippians 2:15) so that you may come to be blameless and innocent, children of God without a blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you are shining as illuminators in the world,

Sesame Credit as explained by Game Developers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHcTKWiZ8sI‘&rel=0

Edited March 31, 2018 by Myew

[hatcheckgirl]

Social engineering to motivate populations happens anyway now as part of government policy. Think 'Drink Drive' campaigns and other health initiatives.. Japanese culture is heavily engineered by government - slogans, posters, directions are everywhere telling you what to do and how to behave in public. It’s quite repressive by our standards. But one can see the need for some control as this is the government’s role.

 

Its just that the collection of personal data on every activity we do is fairly recent, and moving at a pace. They can track so much more that they used to, and want to use it to manipulate how people should act, or they suffer the consequences. The government’s ability to misuse this and mine it for unscrupulous means is palpable, and very possible. Particularly thinking the potential for corruption that is possible.  China suffers more from corruption due to not being as 'openly transparent' as western societies, but we know all govts have the same leader.

 

Feels like we’ve hit 1984.