The good citizen card: in China people will be scored

Establish a rating system in which each person is scored and that the amount of points that we have affects our life. Even in a society like ours, where we are often concerned about the opinions that others has on us, this idea may seem exaggerated and more typical of science fiction than the reality. In fact, it is a concept that we can see in series like Black Mirror (in its chapter "Plummet"), in literature (Orwell's 1984) or in video games. However, it is something that has been raised to carry out in reality.

In fact, facing 2020 it is proposed that it happen in China, with the Zhima Credit System and the good citizen card.

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Big Brother comes to China

The concept of Big Brother was born in Orwell's novel 1984, an author who presented a future in which citizens were continuously monitored, being watched and controlled in such a way that everything they do and say is observed and valued. This idea has spread among the population to the point of being used to refer to those situations in which there is extreme control and manipulation of the behavior of the population. And it is something that could happen in China when the system that concerns us in this article is implemented.

For some years now, China has proposed and approved the implementation of a system that allows, through the extensive network of cameras that cover the country, assess the actions of citizens based on criteria and algorithms for the moment secret.

The process in question is not something that has already been definitively established, but is open to changes depending on the appearance of different variables and successes and errors that should be seen be modified. In this sense, the government has provided permission to eight private companies to generate a system based on algorithms dedicated to the control and scoring of the actions of the population, being the Zhima or Sesame Credit system of Alibaba one of the most active and popular (together with the China Rapid Finance company) in the generation of an algorithm based on various criteria.

Among these criteria we could find the financial history (do you pay the bills? Do you ask for credits?), the ability to meet contractual obligations (efficiency and effectiveness at work), personal characteristics and behavior and preferences. This means that the economic capacity, labor productivity of each citizen, what they buy and what they do not buy, their habits and tastes, and he would be rewarded and punished for it.

Participation in this program is, at this time, voluntary. However, it is proposed that from 2020 it will be mandatory for every person and legal entity in China. Thus, the entire country will have a social value as a citizen, their actions being scored and controlled.

Of course, this initiative is subject to numerous criticisms and controversies, since it It supposes an almost total control of the citizenry by the authorities and being subject to criteria unknown to the majority. After all: what is it to be a good citizen? The answer to this question is subject to great subjectivity.

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facial recognition surveillance

To work, this system requires an intricate system of cameras covering the cities, as well as a software that allows facial recognition. And the truth is that both elements are already established in China: there is, for example, the possibility of buying or withdrawing money from banking entities based on the analysis of their features, without specifying cards, with systems such as Face++.

It is also used in a punitive way: in some cities we can see how there are large electronic billboards where the faces of citizens who have been recorded committing some imprudence are shown as far as car traffic is concerned, be it pedestrians or drivers, as a public derision (it is necessary to pay to remove their image).

These are useful systems in different ways, the application of which has allowed the arrest of multiple criminals and suspects. It makes it easy to locate them and know what they have done and when. It also makes things like shopping easier, by not requiring items like cards to pay and reducing the likelihood of theft (although there is also the risk of system hacking).

Likewise, the idea of ​​controlling information about some aspects of citizens' lives is neither new nor exclusive to China. For example, in the United States there are reports on credit and financial efficiency and reliability that may have repercussions when obtaining credits or assessing conditions.

What is pioneering and controversial about this initiative is the fact of applying it to the entire population of generalized way, and the idea of ​​assessing how good or bad a citizen one is, having this assessment dye much more subjective. In addition, said control would be exercised continuously throughout the life of the subject, in all areas in which it could be recorded.

Our score has consequences on a day-to-day basis

The score and assessment that citizens may have will not be something merely anecdotal, but will have its consequences.

As stated, the people with low social value could see how their Internet access is less and low speed, and access to different leisure systems, services and products (going to the cinema or certain restaurants for example, or enrolling her children in private schools) or specific rights (getting a passport, gaining access to some positions of work or access the right to use some methods of transportation), it will also be limited if conduct considered inadequate. For example, someone with a very low rating could not access fields related to legality, civil law or journalism.

On the other hand, those who have a higher score could have multiple benefits in addition to being socially better valued: For example, they may have priority to obtain visas, and will be exempt from having to leave a deposit in hotels or rent an apartment (although this only applies to some cities).

It is a system that has been qualified by the government as a method so that those worthy of trust and value can act freely while those who do not deserve such trust and commit different crimes find it difficult to act as they wish please. This concept can be dangerous, anywhere on the globe: dissent or specific ideologies could be easily suppressed and punished, and even scientific advances contrary to the opinion or interests of classes closest to power could be held back.

altering behavior

In addition to the above, this scoring system can have another type of risk: profoundly altering our behavior, even where vigilance does not reach.

The main advantage is that security is increased when it comes to blood crimes, and it also decreases the possibility of breaking the law, which could lead to reduced recklessness such as those that lead to a car accident traffic.

The adverse consequences are clear. There is a loss of freedom and privacy, leaving the totality of our behavior exposed and being constantly judged by other people whose ideas do not have to correspond to ours.

Also non-criminal or harmful behaviors can be judged, as individual social and personal habits and divergences from the norm could be affected. Likewise, spontaneity would be lost and every act would become much more controlled, due to fear of possible reprisals. This subjects the citizen to high pressure in all areas of his life, generating stress and anxiety that can reduce his abilities and even harm his health.

Another item to consider is the possible desperate search for social approval, and the evaluation and punctuation that we had could lead to an obsessive or histrionic point: although in principle the punctuation itself is not shared with the other citizens, the fact of being valued in a better or worse way will make some people seek approval above all else, compulsively and desperate.

Finally, we can find another risk: the sale of our data to third-party companies so that they benefit and try to attract us to their products. Although it is something that is already carried out normally when entering different websites and social networks, this is already requiring a implicit acceptance that said websites have at least part of our information and it is not something that is carried out for the mere made.