The MIT Technology Review reports in "China Turns Big Data into Big Brother" that the Chinese government wants to assign citizens a score that determines their eligibility for everything from loans to education.
This rumor has been around for some time now, but now seems to be true as the Chinese government is now testing systems that will be used to create digital records of citizens' social and financial behavior.
Of course the government doesn't just say "we're working really hard to figure out clever new ways to keep you all slaves!" Instead, this is supposed to help "good" citizens be freer by
"allow[ing] the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step."
How does one fall into the "discredited" category? Well...
The system will at first log "infractions such as fare cheating, jaywalking and violating family-planning rules" but will be expanded in the future -- potentially even to Internet activity.
Let's take a moment of silence for the countless decent human beings who will nonetheless be officially branded as undesirable with fewer human rights.
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Image source: http://www.ogilvydo.com/news-views/social-credit-score-is-most-sinister-idea-yet/