[Niamh.]

How Creepy

Black Mirror’s ‘Nosedive’ episode is about to become reality in China



Another day, another terrifying Black Mirror prediction come true. This time, it’s season three’s ‘Nosedive’ episode.

In the opener to Black Mirror‘s third season, members of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian society are judged by a numeric rating given to them by their interactions with other people – better interactions can lead to a higher rating, while bad ones lead to a lower one. With lower ratings, lesser opportunities are available and vice versa, leading to the protagonist’s life crumbling after she receives too many negative votes from her peers.

Now, Chinese authorities are apparently trialling a new social credit system which sounds eerily reminiscent of Brooker’s vision.

As the Telegraph report, citizens will be ‘scored’ between 350 and 950. Good deeds such as donating blood, charity work or posting positive messages about the country will result in a higher rating.

Conversely, being friends with someone ‘undesirable’ on social media will lead to a lower ‘score’, as will cancelling a reservation, or engaging in any other bad deeds.

Higher ratings will be rewarded with everything from cheaper public transport, to shorter waits at hospitals, while low ranking citizens will have restricted access to come hotels and restaurants, and a slower internet speed.

The terrifying prospect is on course to be tested by 2020.

The news comes a day after Japan revealed a real-life version of the horrifying robot dog in Black Mirror‘s ‘Metalhead’, which itself came just weeks after another season four prophecy about a potentially killer robot pizza delivery van came true, which prompted Black Mirror themselves to respond, “We know how this goes.”

Shortly after that, the relationship button from Black Mirror’s ‘Hang The DJ’ episode then became available to try online.
Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/tv/black-mir...OZ2AOEE3wdZ.99

Black Mirror
Another day, another terrifying Black Mirror prediction come true. This time, it’s season three’s ‘Nosedive’ episode.

In the opener to Black Mirror‘s third season, members of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian society are judged by a numeric rating given to them by their interactions with other people – better interactions can lead to a higher rating, while bad ones lead to a lower one. With lower ratings, lesser opportunities are available and vice versa, leading to the protagonist’s life crumbling after she receives too many negative votes from her peers.

Now, Chinese authorities are apparently trialling a new social credit system which sounds eerily reminiscent of Brooker’s vision.

As the Telegraph report, citizens will be ‘scored’ between 350 and 950. Good deeds such as donating blood, charity work or posting positive messages about the country will result in a higher rating.


Conversely, being friends with someone ‘undesirable’ on social media will lead to a lower ‘score’, as will cancelling a reservation, or engaging in any other bad deeds.

Higher ratings will be rewarded with everything from cheaper public transport, to shorter waits at hospitals, while low ranking citizens will have restricted access to come hotels and restaurants, and a slower internet speed.

The terrifying prospect is on course to be tested by 2020.

The news comes a day after Japan revealed a real-life version of the horrifying robot dog in Black Mirror‘s ‘Metalhead’, which itself came just weeks after another season four prophecy about a potentially killer robot pizza delivery van came true, which prompted Black Mirror themselves to respond, “We know how this goes.”
Read more: ‘Black Mirror’ season 5: release date, trailers, cast, writers and everything we know so far

Shortly after that, the relationship button from Black Mirror’s ‘Hang The DJ’ episode then became available to try online.


Speaking ahead of season four’s release, Brooker said called it “quite far out,” noting just how accurate some episodes have been in picturing the future. “Weirdly there was one news story I read the other day that I thought ‘Oh, how does that reflect on an episode we’ve already finished shooting?’” he said. “There was some new discovery made. Hopefully not, but then when writing them I never think any of these are going to come true, and then it seems like some of them do. “

He added:

“For this coming season they’re quite far out there so I don’t envisage that being a problem. Although if that does happen the world is really ****ed… well, the world is really ****ed”, so we’ll see.”


Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/tv/black-mir...OZ2AOEE3wdZ.99

[Saph]

Good deeds such as donating blood, charity work or posting positive messages about the country will result in a higher rating.

we'd all be dead in this country if we had this system

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Saph

we'd all be dead in this country if we had this system

"posting positive messages about the country" sounds very 1984 esque

[Beso]

I like the sound of that, if you take away the negative scoring its a great idea.

[Kizzy]

We're headed the same way... That's what a meritocracy will do, reward those who tick more conformity based boxes.

[Beso]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

We're headed the same way... That's what a meritocracy will do, reward those who tick more conformity based boxes.

Heading for?

http://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.th...ocial-mobility

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by parmnion

Heading for?

http://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.th...ocial-mobility

Yes headed for ... It's theresas vision, she is full steam ahead with it.

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...overnment-cuts

[Beso]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Yes headed for ... It's theresas vision, she is full steam ahead with it.

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...overnment-cuts

Blair rolled it out 20 yrs ago fgs.


Im surprised you seem to be against it seeing as it rewards by merit rather than privilage!

So why so against it now?

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by parmnion

Blair rolled it out 20 yrs ago fgs.


Im surprised you seem to be against it seeing as it rewards by merit rather than privilage!

So why so against it now?

So... Why would that appeal to me?

It's ongoing and more apparent than ever. I don't think rewards by merit or privilege are viable for the whole of society.

[Beso]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

So... Why would that appeal to me?

It's ongoing and more apparent than ever. I don't think rewards by merit or privilege are viable for the whole of society.

Its a lot fairer than lord farquar the 3rd getting a position of power just cause lord farquar the 1st polished the correct arseholes though, no?

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by parmnion

Its a lot fairer than lord farquar the 3rd getting a position of power just cause lord farquar the 1st polished the correct arseholes though, no?

Are you suggesting that doesn't still happen?

[Beso]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Are you suggesting that doesn't still happen?

Dont be so stupid, course not.
Which is why it should be championed.

[Maru]

Competition is bred into Chinese society, so it makes sense why they would even trial such a system.

I don't know about the UK, but in the US, contributions to society aren't always something you even can always measure, much less to "rate"... our self-worth falls down to the individual level and because we are so individually autonomous, I think implementing things such as socialism or even communistic style systems would be very incompatible with o. A lot of the things we cherish in our society are intangible for many folk, for example, not necessarily having physical or material value. Whereas, in places like China or even Japan, this is not true at all in their culture. In Japan for example, "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down", etc.

I think the closest we have gotten is online, with sites such as Twitter/Facebook, and those "rating" systems implied there and other statistical analyses. It's one reason why much of the right has issues with how these private social systems essentially encourage and designs themselves around collective group think and why we've yet to really see a thriving conservative social media like you have on the left... it's a bit against the grain for most folk who really value their independence and don't want to be judged as the nail that sticks out.

That said, social media has misled a lot of people to thinking that group think is "thriving", but understandably some think it's effect may pose a threat... but I think actually, outside of places where a hive mind can thrive or group narrative can succeed, usually private institutions such as universities or "corporate" environments where there is an ethos... we don't really see group think and our culture and population is sort of allergic outside of those environments. When I went to apply to work at the Apple store, we did a group interview with 40-50 people at about 5AM... and I think the way it works, if you are "on board" with their corporate philosophy, you'll get in. But our culture doesn't force, much less encourage group participation... so I have a difficult time believing this could thrive in the West? In fact, many of the social constructs that would've made such a system work, such as the declining value of the institution of marriage, would seem to work against it.

People in Asian countries don't marry for the same reasons we do and that's the glue to many cultural and social traditions in our societies... in fact, many do for more financial or to keep the blood-line segregated to a certain type of ancestry. For example, my Vietnamese friend had to decide to marry someone who he was arranged to marry in order to continue training in his family's traditions (think some forms of martial arts, Asian medicine, etc)... he is marrying a Caucasian woman, and so he had to accept he forfeited those rites and is not allowed to continue that part of the family legacy and so he's "gone off the beaten path" in that sense...

So yeah, I don't think that our culture is even remotely compatible with creating a system where hierarchy is encouraged. The US was founded on rebellion and will likely end in rebellion...

[James]

It sounds like the Karma system we used to have on this forum.

[Smithy]

Originally Posted by James

It sounds like the Karma system we used to have on this forum.

BRING HER BACK!!

[Maru]

Originally Posted by James

It sounds like the Karma system we used to have on this forum.

And all other likes systems really

[arista]

Originally Posted by parmnion

Blair rolled it out 20 yrs ago fgs.


Im surprised you seem to be against it seeing as it rewards by merit rather than privilage!

So why so against it now?

Yes Fecking New Labour damage

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Maru

And all other likes systems really

To be fair, as much as "likes" systems become a popularity contest, they become a whole new beast when you allow "downvotes" as well as likes / upvotes. My own forum had a full up/down system at first but people used it to get at each other, so we made it a simple upvotes system... Which was sort of abused too... So eventually we just made it an "agree with this" sort of like Facebook likes. You could agree with a post and the post had a box at the bottom that showed which members had "agreed" with the post... Alongside a ban on posts that were just to say "here here", "I agree with this", etc.

Of course even that had issues when you had someone saying something blatantly designed to be insulting, then 10 others in the "agree" box .

[Kizzy]

:/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a8260941.html