Chapter 1: Understanding China's Social Credit System

China is in the process of implementing a social credit system that evaluates citizens based on their everyday actions, resulting in either rewards or penalties.

This concept mirrors an episode from the technology-dystopian series Black Mirror titled "Nosedive." Initially, the episode presents a seemingly perfect future where people are excessively cordial. However, it soon becomes evident that this enforced friendliness is anything but natural, culminating in the protagonist's significant decline in social standing.

In this fictional future, social media has escalated to the point where individuals rate every interaction—both personal and professional—on a five-star basis. Imagine applying the mutual rating systems of platforms like Uber and Airbnb to every social engagement.

In the show, an individual's social credit score operates similarly to a real-time financial score. Those who maintain a score of 4.5 or above enjoy numerous privileges, while scores below 3.5 lead to social isolation and rejection from businesses. Dropping below 2.5 effectively renders a person socially invisible.

The protagonist’s unfortunate experiences drive her once-stellar score of 4.2 into a dramatic plunge. I won’t give away the conclusion, but it aligns with the unsettling endings typical of Black Mirror—ultimately grim.

For nearly a decade, the Chinese government has been advancing a similar scheme, albeit from a top-down perspective. The aim is to cultivate a “system of trust” within society, linking every citizen and business to a social credit score.

This initiative extends the notion of financial credit scores, which serve as a risk assessment tool for banks and businesses in evaluating loans, leases, and even employment prospects.

We are entering an era where artificial intelligence, widespread communication networks, and vast data can converge to form a comprehensive, near-real-time surveillance and behavioral monitoring system. This seems to be China's intention.

When the Chinese government claims to be establishing a “system of trust,” it's challenging to accept that their motives are entirely benevolent. In a nation known for suppressing dissent, the social credit system appears to have a more nefarious agenda beneath its surface.

Consider a hypothetical scenario: A citizen suffers financial ruin due to a real estate scam—an issue currently prevalent in China—and decides to join a street protest. The surveillance apparatus captures his image, and facial recognition identifies him. The social credit system promptly lowers his score. Upon returning home, he finds his apartment door locked, preventing entry. A hotel refuses him service due to his low score, and should a restaurant serve him regardless, they too face penalties.

In this scenario, the so-called “system of trust” operates through severe, silent oppression—no firearms, no tanks, no police presence.

Such incidents are not merely hypothetical. Wired Magazine reported the case of Liu Hu, a journalist imprisoned for exposing government corruption. Instead of incarceration, he was placed on a blacklist known as the List of Dishonest Persons Subject to Enforcement by the Supreme People’s Court, which is nothing short of Orwellian.

Due to this blacklisting, Liu was barred from purchasing a plane ticket, among other restrictions. He stated, “There was no file, no police warrant, no official advance notification. They just cut me off from the things I was once entitled to. What’s really scary is there’s nothing you can do about it. You can report to no one. You are stuck in the middle of nowhere.” — Liu Hu, as reported in Wired.

Much like the plot of "Nosedive," this system holds the potential to create a downward spiral for individuals who accumulate negative marks. Once downgraded, a person may find themselves increasingly disadvantaged, leading to desperate actions that invite further penalties. This could establish a class system based on social credit, with low performers becoming the social outcasts while high scorers ascend to societal prominence.

In China, the underlying purpose of this system is likely to reinforce government control. If the technologies and methodologies are successfully integrated as intended, it could represent a pinnacle of state control over the populace, all managed from data centers and surveillance rooms rather than through overt force.

As discussed in my article on 6G, technology advancements can have unintended consequences. In China’s case, we witness a top-down initiative using AI, communication networks, and big data to exercise control over the masses. However, even in more liberated societies, there exists the risk of market-driven phenomena resembling this. As seen in the Black Mirror episode, we could witness the expansion of two-way rating systems into various social and business interactions as technology becomes more seamless.

The following excerpt from an article in Business Insider highlights how such systems can gradually infiltrate society:

“A 32-year-old entrepreneur, who only gave his name as Chen, told Foreign Policy in 2018 that ‘I feel like in the past six months, people’s behavior has gotten better and better. For example, when we drive, now we always stop in front of crosswalks. If you don’t stop, you will lose your points. At first, we just worried about losing points, but now we got used to it.’” — As reported in Business Insider.

Chen’s observations echo the early stages of a dystopian society reminiscent of Black Mirror. A façade of politeness and cleanliness conceals a deeper, unsettling fear.

The first video titled "China's Dystopian Social Credit system" explores the implications and realities of this system, shedding light on its societal impact.

The second video, "China's Social Credit System - How to live in the world's biggest Prison? | ENDEVR Documentary," provides a deeper analysis of living under such a regime.