THIS IS GLOBALLY IMPORTANT: Government Compliance Game

[Thaal Sinestro]

[youtube]lHcTKWiZ8sI[/youtube]

This isn't about Extra Credits, this isn't about learning to make better games. This is about a LITERALLY DYSTOPIAN use of games to motivate government compliance.

It's launched in China, and will be MANDATORY FOR ALL CITIZENS in 2020.

This is terrifying. This is real, and it could seriously change things for the Chinese people. I'm infuriated and hurt by this, honestly. I really am. I'm so sad that this is happening, and so ANGRY. I feel betrayed, in a way, that this kind of thing is being used to control people for the benefit of a quiet and complacent populous. This shit is terrifying.

[Artoria Pendragon]

Oh boy. First Donald Trump, now this.. Jesus this world is going downhill fast..

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

[Zack Fair]

What the hell?

[Roger Smith]

Well, this is legitimately terrifying. And more than a little distressing.

[Moon]

I like games as much as the next guy.


But this, this...


It's wrong. Also it's terrifying.

[Corporal Light]

If anything good comes out of this, its that it does seem like a good idea as a theme for an actual game.

[Jade Harley]

This is.... this is really, really scary.

[Magus]

Which devs are behind this? Because an American/European/Canadian/whatever company should -not- be let off the hook for what are clearly sweeping human rights violations.

Not to mention just basic ethics. What kind of monsters are these people?

[Thaal Sinestro]

Which devs are behind this? Because an American/European/Canadian/whatever company should -not- be let off the hook for what are clearly sweeping human rights violations.

Not to mention just basic ethics. What kind of monsters are these people?

Both Chinese owned.

[Magus]

A shame.

[Dark Link]

Topic moved.

This is quite disturbing. That said, speaking as someone who is rather averse towards social media due to privacy concerns, I can't say I'm entirely surprised by this. Given the propensity of these kind of systems to be self-sustaining and encouraging peer pressure, it was really only a matter of time before someone would 'gamify' them in this manner.

If there's a bright side to this story, it's that the Chinese government ended up being so blatant about their plans by announcing that it would be mandatory in the future, thus exposing the ugliness of this system from the get go. Honestly, had they handled all this with some degree of subtlety, they could have potentially gotten away with this with little to no criticism. After all, it's not like there aren't plenty of people who buy into this sort of thing willing and eagerly.

[Magus]

Topic moved.

This is quite disturbing. That said, speaking as someone who is rather averse towards social media due to privacy concerns, I can't say I'm entirely surprised by this. Given the propensity of these kind of systems to be self-sustaining and encouraging peer pressure, it was really only a matter of time before someone would 'gamify' them in this manner.

If there's a bright side to this story, it's that the Chinese government ended up being so blatant about their plans by announcing that it would be mandatory in the future, thus exposing the ugliness of this system from the get go. Honestly, had they handled all this with some degree of subtlety, they could have potentially gotten away with this with little to no criticism. After all, it's not like there aren't plenty of people who buy into this sort of thing willing and eagerly.

The difference here is it actually affects your social and economic standing. This isn't like giving out too much information on Facebook. This affects your life in much more direct ways. Your access to credit. The way the government treats you. What social services you have access to. And, most importantly, unlike Twitter/whatever, you don't get to choose to opt out.

[Thaal Sinestro]

And additionally, even though WE see it as a transparent social control system, many people there won't see it as a big deal. At worst, the average person will see it as innocuous, and those few who see it for what it is have no way to speak against it.

Like, many people see it as a GOOD thing, because they see that they can get benefits. There are a ton of, as in hundreds of thousands if not more, who have opted in and are excited about it.

[Kakashi Hatake]

This is really telling of how things are in China. Is there anything that can be done about this? I don't know shit about politics (especially internationally), but how can this not be squashed by the UN as a human rights violation? I know China is part of the UN, but Christ. Even if it doesn't directly harm people, the effects are plain as day, as noted in the video.

[Undyne]

The problem is that this isn't a big turnaround in China... the country already has an immense grip on its people, the state is much more important than in America or Europe, and people's priorities are very different - I've heard for instance that your company pretty much defines your life, all your friends and activities happen in that company. This is just one further manifestation of this strong grip.

China already has censorship, tight control on the social networks and on the people. To us this might sound bad, but... I think that it's something most people will suck up because it's not nearly as bad to them as it is to us. I'm just worried to how it will develop - imagine China starting to actively monitor people who don't fall in line, spying on them or treating them lower than others.

[Rin Takao]

I assume riots will ensue...

[Thaal Sinestro]

This is really telling of how things are in China. Is there anything that can be done about this? I don't know shit about politics (especially internationally), but how can this not be squashed by the UN as a human rights violation? I know China is part of the UN, but Christ. Even if it doesn't directly harm people, the effects are plain as day, as noted in the video.

They aren't doing anything illegal. They're just awarding you a score, and giving you benefits if they're high enough and maybe giving you a few inconvenient things if it's low. That's why it's insidious.

[Thaal Sinestro]

I assume riots will ensue...

HahahahahahahfahahagahhahhHAHAHAHAHA

No.

[Thaal Sinestro]

The problem is that this isn't a big turnaround in China... the country already has an immense grip on its people, the state is much more important than in America or Europe, and people's priorities are very different - I've heard for instance that your company pretty much defines your life, all your friends and activities happen in that company. This is just one further manifestation of this strong grip.

China already has censorship, tight control on the social networks and on the people. To us this might sound bad, but... I think that it's something most people will suck up because it's not nearly as bad to them as it is to us. I'm just worried to how it will develop - imagine China starting to actively monitor people who don't fall in line, spying on them or treating them lower than others.

They already treat them poorly and spy on them, but this week give them better eyes on, and a list of problem people to prioritize.

As the video points out, the big change is the SOCIAL aspect. When others can see your score and automatically discredit (or credit) you, it really creates a publicly supported system of compliance instead of a "big scary government" doing it.

Remember that factory explosion a few months ago? Now imagine nobody posting videos about it for fear of a lower score. The world would never know.