If technocracy is not studied, it may be difficult to understand how it works and affects everyone, but China offers a clue.
While China is often perceived as a communist state, it is really run by one political party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP controls everything, and dissent is not tolerated; no opposition parties are allowed, and those who are critical of the government can be persecuted. The political structure has several layers and commands unity, resulting in a centralized government.
China’s transition to using technocracy as a tool for social control began in the 1980’s, waned briefly, then again increased with President Xi Jinping since 2013. As technology has advanced over the last decade, so too has technocracy been rejuvenated in China.
So much for an extremely brief summation of China and its integration of technocracy. The real grit of the matter is how it can be understood on a personal level. Under China’s social credit system, technocracy is easily recognized. Based on data collected from surveillance of all types and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze it, it is a “you will comply” system as well as engineering humans to behave and think only in the way in which the government allows.
Here we have a compliant CGTN reporter, Liu Chen, who very happily explains, way back in 2014, how the social credit system works and the importance and benefit of compliance.
Notice how she comments that she can’t afford to own anything as she starts driving around in the rented car, a World Economic Forum (WEF) prediction. She proceeds to use her digital ID for access to her financial credit report, which uses shared information from commercial institutions. Today, given its massive surveillance system, China is also having to expand its data storage capacity with data centers. Being a non-compliant citizen in China will restrict freedom of movement, access to food and recreation, insurance, and housing options. At the end, she announces that social credit systems have been used for decades and somehow equates it to a “better life”.
In this short 2019 video, the “good and bad citizen” aspect of China’s social credit system is explained. While acknowledging the positive aspects of this system, one young lady explains, “Anyway, we don’t have a choice”. By using data from multiple sources, one individual declares the government will build a “moral society”. Purchases made by that debit card or phone are used to detail bad habits, along with surveillance capturing and storing social media posts that reveal negative thoughts about the government. Public shaming for bad behavior is an everyday norm. Some call it a “digital dictatorship” with a “loss of freedom”. This system has only become better with AI.
Here is a more recent perspective of how the China social credit system works. As explained in the video, the smartphone is at the core of this system; life can’t be managed without one. It is the collector of information on everything one does every day. Ushered in by the Covid-19 event, the QR code became the collector. So advanced has the system become that it is now transitioning to facial recognition as the means of getting through the day. Another reason data centers are so desperately needed is to store the diverse and complicated data so AI can analyze every human for control.
Now, not everyone perceives China as having a dystopian credit score system as explained by the gentleman in this video. He indicates that the whole world operates under a similar system. It is interesting how he perceives this as being no big deal and explains it in such a way that could lead one to believe that indeed, the U.S. does already operate under a similar system.
At its core, technocracy is the science of social engineering. China exemplifies technocracy through its social credit system, using big data and technology to monitor and regulate citizen behavior, and effectively expanding state control over social and moral conduct. Data sources are integrated, creating a framework that prioritizes social management that is driven by technology.
One danger not addressed is the ability of the technocratic state to control resources for populations, regardless of compliance. Another hallmark of technocracy is the control over all production and consumption of resources. The question has to be asked: how far could a malicious government proceed toward a more totalitarian, immoral state?
Maybe we are already in a soft social credit system. The question is: do we still have a choice, or has the Constitution been so eroded that it is too late?
