Just the other day, a few of us were walking to a restaurant to pick up some food to go. As we came to an intersection, one of our coworkers decided to jaywalk across the street putting all our lives in danger. Ok, maybe I was a little dramatic, but I was thinking that the likelihood of getting struck by a car greatly increases when disobeying crossing laws. If this person did this, who is to say what other sketchy activities they may engage in?! The Chinese Government apparently is to say what other sketchy activities they engage in. In China, they have been experimenting with a social credit system that does exactly that, giving people ratings on their trustworthiness and how they interact as a member of society. Zhima Credit, is just one enterprise that created a personal rating system that is associated with Alipay, the main form of mobile payment in China. They currently have over 80 million active users. In China, super apps that aggregate several apps together dominate the mobile space, and make everyone use their apps to get around. This personal credit rating system gives people a score between 350(low) and 950(high). Those who have good scores get plenty of perks and rewards. You receive favorable terms on loans and apartment rentals, showcasing on several dating apps, reduced taxes, and even streamlined visas for travel and the list goes on. What about all the people that have low scores? This credit system has also been integrated with the Chinese Government’s blacklist which is a list of dishonest people. If you make it on the black list or have extremely low scores, you may be banned from most forms of travel and can’t buy certain goods, or stay in luxury hotels.
If you have a low rating, you become part of the “digital underclass” and must pay deposits before you can rent a bike, stay in a hotel, or even borrow a free umbrella.
These are a few things that can impact your score:-Paying Debts-Qualifications-Criminal offence/Minor infractions(JAYWALKING)-Behaving poorly on public transport-Education-Products you buy-The company you keep-Donating to charity-Helping others-Mobile phone usage (gaming, etc)Although this might sound crazy and incredibly authoritarian, in a 2018 survey with 2,200 Chinese Citizens, they found that most Chinese citizens approve of both commercial and government social credit systems, 80% to be exact. Also surprising from this survey is that wealthy and better educated citizens had the highest approval levels of social credit although it may be contrary to what would be good for their personal freedoms. 76% of the respondents also believed that there is a general distrust in Chinese society, and that social credit would be a great means to combat pollution, negligence, and con artists. With a way to influence social behavior, could this be a way to save society and influence behaviors?In many asian cultures, citizens rely on the government stepping in to help society function and determine what is best for its people and the understanding of freedom can be limited. On the other hand, in the United States, with all the freedoms we are granted, many individuals seek to take change into their own hands instead of relying on others. I guess the real point here would be, do you think governments/enterprises should help influence society or should people be responsible for themselves and how they behave? And thinking about that, what would your social credit score be if we had a social credit system? Mine might be low, as I apparently associate with individual who Jaywalk!”}” data-sheets-userformat=”{“2″:8961,”3”:{“1″:0},”11″:4,”12″:0,”16″:7}”>Just the other day, a few of us were walking to a restaurant to pick up some food to go. As we came to an intersection, one of our coworkers decided to jaywalk across the street putting all our lives in danger. Ok, maybe I was a little dramatic, but I was thinking that the likelihood of getting struck by a car greatly increases when disobeying crossing laws. If this person did this, who is to say what other sketchy activities they may engage in?!
The Chinese Government apparently is to say what other sketchy activities they engage in. In China, they have been experimenting with a social credit system that does exactly that, giving people ratings on their trustworthiness and how they interact as a member of society.
Zhima Credit, is just one enterprise that created a personal rating system that is associated with Alipay, the main form of mobile payment in China. They currently have over 80 million active users. In China, super apps that aggregate several apps together dominate the mobile space, and make everyone use their apps to get around. This personal credit rating system gives people a score between 350(low) and 950(high).
Those who have good scores get plenty of perks and rewards. You receive favorable terms on loans and apartment rentals, showcasing on several dating apps, reduced taxes, and even streamlined visas for travel and the list goes on. What about all the people that have low scores?
This credit system has also been integrated with the Chinese Government’s blacklist which is a list of dishonest people. If you make it on the black list or have extremely low scores, you may be banned from most forms of travel and can’t buy certain goods, or stay in luxury hotels. If you have a low rating, you become part of the “digital underclass” and must pay deposits before you can rent a bike, stay in a hotel, or even borrow a free umbrella.
These are a few things that can impact your score:
- Paying Debts
- Qualifications
- Criminal offence/Minor infractions(JAYWALKING)
- Behaving poorly on public transport
- Education
- Products you buy
- The company you keep
- Donating to charity
- Helping others
- Mobile phone usage (gaming, etc)
Although this might sound crazy and incredibly authoritarian, in a 2018 survey with 2,200 Chinese Citizens, they found that most Chinese citizens approve of both commercial and government social credit systems, 80% to be exact. Also surprising from this survey is that wealthy and better educated citizens had the highest approval levels of social credit although it may be contrary to what would be good for their personal freedoms. 76% of the respondents also believed that there is a general distrust in Chinese society, and that social credit would be a great means to combat pollution, negligence, and con artists. With a way to influence social behavior, could this be a way to save society and influence behaviors?
In many asian cultures, citizens rely on the government stepping in to help society function and determine what is best for its people and the understanding of freedom can be limited. On the other hand, in the United States, with all the freedoms we are granted, many individuals seek to take change into their own hands instead of relying on others. I guess the real point here would be, do you think governments/enterprises should help influence society or should people be responsible for themselves and how they behave?
And thinking about that, what would your social credit score be if we had a social credit system?
Mine might be low, as I apparently associate with individual who Jaywalk!
