The Future of Social Credit System (2015)

Ever imagine a dystopian future where every citizen is categorized and measured if they are the model citizen they are supposed to be?...

Ever imagine a dystopian future where every citizen is categorized and measured if they are the model citizen they are supposed to be? Well, you don't have to wait as China has already put their social credit system in place as it keeps everyone in their country on the line.

Your world would be like you are in a constant rat race just to keep yourself in the good graces of a totalitarian government that has a say in every aspect of your life. The score can determine where you can live, what job you can get and who you can date.

The future is already here as social media, financial institutions and other companies are utilizing some form of social metrics without us knowing. It is expected that future governments will use such a system to control society through a self-enforcing technique. This system will make use of big data like our browsing history, shopping patterns and social engagement trends to grade the social creditworthiness of citizens

The system will use big data technology to rate the social creditworthiness of citizens and businesses and either reward or punish them based on the given scores. Everyone will be constantly monitored and assessed in all aspects of social life with scores refreshed in real-time. Companies and organizations are also assessed based on the economic, political, social and environmental actions they make.

A reward-punishment mechanism is in place so that the government has all the power to control policies as it sees fit. Ideally, a social credit system will help create a level of transparency so that it will force individuals and groups to act the way the government wants. However, there would also be risks associated with huge amounts of big data the government would have access to, which could be misused to benefit state interests.

'Enemies of the State'

With such a system in place, a new underclass would be created in the future. Every citizen will be rated on categories that include credit history, personal characteristics, preferences, political affiliation and social behavior so that every form of government service would be tailored-fit to a particular individual. Anyone who has a very low score would find themselves restricted to any service, ineligible for bank loans or face restrictions on what they can buy. The government basically decides what is "good" and what is "bad."

Unfortunately, human behavior has gray areas where you can't really draw the line between what is good and what is bad. It's not as simple as black or white as human behavior and emotions are complex. What if you got defrauded and suffer the consequences of having a low credit score? Do you think that an exemption to the rule is necessary?

If that's the case, anyone can be a victim of blackmail and governments can put crimes you didn't commit in the law enforcement database like the case in Will Smith's "Enemy of the State."

Ethical Concerns

There are ethical concerns as huge amounts of big data are processed so that governments of the future will gain insights as to how people think and what they are likely to do. Big tech companies are even sharing data with other players as they develop advanced and complex algorithms that can provide more accurate ratings. Many e-commerce companies are using it to know their customers better even before they check out the products, causing consumer anxiety.

It is widely believed that future applications of the social credit system may lead to the creation of future justice called pre-crime prevention. It is a scary concept to contemplate as law enforcement in the future may involve arresting people even before a crime is committed. If you think about killing someone whether you want to or not can be a punishable offense!