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We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

thenexus.media

231–240 of 727 posts

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#231

I moved from Canada to California for a new job with a mid six figure salary. I had a very difficult time finding a place to rent as I had no credit score. Only places that were available without credit score was a room to share. That was not an option with a cat, wife and kids. Finally, I found a place that was willing to accept the entire year's rent up front. Moving such a large amount of money from Canada to US h…

Holy moly the US is kafkaesque. Gee.

Duly noted. I might be in your position one day in the far future. Will prep for it.

Thanks :)

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean I live in the US and people are getting persecuted right now for being a minority, being politically active, or being in legal trouble. So not seeing a huge difference between liberal democracies and authoritarians.

I think it's pretty easy to tell the difference. Just imagine the difference in the level of fear that you would feel about 1) getting up in a public square in the US and yelling that Trump is a terrible person who should be removed from power, vs. 2) getting up in a public square in Russia and yelling that Putin is a terrible person who should be removed from power.

Have you heard of what ICE has been doing for the last six months? And that Trump has militarized Washington DC?

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#234
post #16
post #9

Why do you think sms "2fa" is suddenly so popular with banks and other fintechs, despite things like passkeys and u2f, you know things that _actually_ prevent people from breaking into accounts, have existed forever?

Try convincing your customers to all get a YubiKey... it's not fun. The majority of internet users are able to read an SMS on their phone and copy a code, however.

They could at least have it as an option. But, for some mysterious reason, of all the services I need a login for, banks tend to be the only ones at this point that don't support it at all.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#235
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you even read the article? Here is the situation in China: > Here's what's actually happening. As of 2024, there's still no nationwide social credit score in China. Most private scoring systems have been shut down, and local government pilots have largely ended. It’s mainly a fragmented collection of regulatory compliance tools, mostly focused on financial behavior and business oversight. While well over 33 milli…

You are conflating "social credit score", which hasn't been built out in China (although blacklisting, imprisonment, and torture for wrongthink has been built out), with "financial credit score" which exists in USA via private companies working togther, and "credit reports" which exist in both USA and China. China's is run by the unelected, dictatorial government.

In US they have just one more party than in China. Also 1 person is not automatically 1 vote.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's pretty easy to tell the difference. Just imagine the difference in the level of fear that you would feel about 1) getting up in a public square in the US and yelling that Trump is a terrible person who should be removed from power, vs. 2) getting up in a public square in Russia and yelling that Putin is a terrible person who should be removed from power.

Have you heard of what ICE has been doing for the last six months? And that Trump has militarized Washington DC?

Yes, but ICE is not deporting, denaturalizing, or imprisoning US citizens for their political opinions, and I would have very little to no fear about going to Washington DC right now, standing up on a podium, and yelling that Trump sucks while there are 100 National Guardsmen across the street from me.

This is very different from what things are like in places like Russia.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#237
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The following you everywhere is a major problem with these systems imo, mostly because it removed the equivalent of bankruptcy for your reputation. If you had to move across the country to leave your bad name behind, you used to be able to. And just like bankruptcy you’d start with nothing so it wasn’t exactly easy but it was at least an option. Now what recourse do people have?

The Music Man would have been a very different story in the post-internet world.

I'm not so sure about that. Turns out if you lie blatantly and entertainingly enough, a lot of people don't care if you're a criminal. Enough that you can be elected to high office.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#238

The issue is that American media/discourse paints a very distorted view of what life under authoritarian rule is like. The truth is in many countries, unless you’re some kind of minority, politically active, or in legal trouble, day-to-day life is mostly similar to life in the west. But people don’t want to hear that, because we want to feel better than them. Like we wouldn’t tolerate that kind of life. Of course the…

This is a naive view. Life under the Soviet Union was horrible. Talk to nearly everyone who lived in fear that their neighbors would rat on them.

That affects everyone.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#239

> The only difference between your phone and China's social credit system is that China tells you what they're doing. We pretend our algorithmic reputation scores are just “user experience features.” At least Beijing admits they're gamifying human behavior. Um no. That is not the only difference by a LONG SHOT. If I want to evaluate whether or not I want to involve myself with you, in any capacity, then that negotiat…

> individuals (businesses or people)

I think here is the difference between your and authors optics. You count businesses (does this include large corporations/organizations?) as individuals.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#240

The issue is that American media/discourse paints a very distorted view of what life under authoritarian rule is like. The truth is in many countries, unless you’re some kind of minority, politically active, or in legal trouble, day-to-day life is mostly similar to life in the west. But people don’t want to hear that, because we want to feel better than them. Like we wouldn’t tolerate that kind of life. Of course the…

This is a naive view. Life under the Soviet Union was horrible. Talk to nearly everyone who lived in fear that their neighbors would rat on them. That affects everyone.

They're probably referring to modern day countries that remain controlled by Communist parties officially. However, these went through a decades long process of privatisation to get where they are today, and there is no guarantee they won't backpeddle.
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