We’re closer to China’s disturbing ‘Social Credit System’ than you realize

Have you ever heard the saying that you are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with? It’s quite possible that someone in the Chinese government is intimately acquainted with the idea. Over the past several years, the country has been working to quantify the trustworthiness of every citizen in China. A bit like a financial credit score, only applying to how much stock we can put in a person’s character, the idea is that using big data and A.I. algorithms to analyze trustworthiness can lead to a new era in upstanding citizenry.Or as the original proposal for the system, titled “Planning Outline for the Construction of a Social Credit System,” put it: “[Such an initiative] will forge a public opinion environment where keeping trust is glorious. It will strengthen sincerity in government affairs, commercial sincerity, social sincerity and the construction of judicial credibility.”So where does businessman and motivational speaker Jim Rohn’s quote about a person being the sum total of five other people come into it? Because one element of the Social Credit System — which will become mandatory for citizens by 2020 — depends on who you associate with online.