This Extra Credits video highlighted many of the potential dangers of utilising gamification for propaganda purposes. Many of the possible scenarios talked about in the video are worst case what if scenarios based on abusing the Sesame Credit system made when Sesame Credit was relatively new when accurate information about the workings of Sesame Credit were unavailable due to both state controlled information from China’s side as well as western fear. This is relevant to Britizen as it brought the group’s attention to Sesame Credit and inspired Britizen.
Black Mirror Season 3 episode 1 “Nosedive”:
Black Mirror is a dystopian television series which focuses on the potential moral dilemmas posed when technology advances within the near future. This episode focuses on a world where everyone has a social credit score where people can rate each other. The episode looks at what this sort of world might look like by focuses on one woman’s quest to raise her score and the consequences when it goes wrong. This is relevant to britizen as it looks very strongly at the social effects of everyone owning a credit score including how people may become more ingenious solely to raise their score.
BBC News: China ‘social credit’: Beijing sets up huge system
The BBC have written a good article describing what Sesame Credit is and how social trustworthiness is seen as less of a private matter with millions of users providing their credit score on their dating profile. The BBC provides a balanced neutral view of Sesame Credit.
All Chinese citizens now have a score based on how well we live, and mine sucks
Written by a chinese citizen who actually owns a Sesame Credit score this article provides first hand evidence of how Sesame Credit works. It was surprising to see that Sesame Credit was less about controlling what it’s user’s share and more about being used as a purely financial score based off people’s abilities to pay. The article goes on to say how Sesame Credit distinctly doesn’t look at specific item purchases when determining scores but it does look at frequency. The article describes Sesame Credit as the Chinese Government’s way of improving consumerism.
American Civil Liberties Union: China’s Nightmarish Citizen Scores Are a Warning For Americans
The American Civil Liberties Union paints a far more bleak outlook towards Sesame Credit similarly to Extra Credits. Also they have a disclaimer similarly to Extra Credits that they don’t know how trustworthy they sources are.
Measuring Credit: How Baidu, Alibaba And Tencent May Succeed Where Facebook Failed
Forbes discusses Facebook’s previous attempt at social credit scores in comparison to Chinese attempts and highlights the differences between the US and Chinese market. It stresses how there is more demand in China for a credit score to encourage lending whereas in the US there exists credit systems already. Facebook also closed their credit system highlighting regulatory and consumer concerns.