The dystopian reality of a social credit system

Of all the heavy-handed tactics governments (both domestic and international) are implementing, one of the most bizarre is the social credit system. First brought to world attention by China, many Western nations are happily embracing the utter and complete control such a system puts over citizens.

But don’t worry – a social credit system will only be implemented with the best possible intentions. We must do our part to save the planet and fight climate change!

In this we are aided and encouraged by the benevolent souls at the World Economic Forum. According to J. Michael Evans, president of the Alibaba Group, a new social compliance platform tested in Chinese cities might be the wave of the future. “We’re developing, through technology, an ability for consumers to measure their own carbon footprint. What does that mean? That’s, where are they traveling, how are they traveling, what are they eating, what are they consuming on the platform? … Stay tuned, we don’t have it operational yet – but this is something we’re working on.”

Of course, no social credit system would be possible without the proper tools. Smartphones are the obvious culprit for the constant second-by-second monitoring potential they offer, but the shift toward digital currency is also a massively important step in that direction.

According to Alibaba Cloud, “Alibaba Cloud launched the Energy Expert platform in February this year, allowing people to track their carbon footprint and receive credits worth money when making low-carbon choices.” The technology is designed to “encourage people to adopt low-carbon behaviors and be environmentally accountable.”. – READ MORE