The Social Credit App Seen in ‘Black Mirror’ Is Becoming Reality in China

Published: December 16, 2017

Black Mirror, the popular Netflix series taking our worst dystopian nightmares and turning them into scenarios that feel way too close to home, never seems to feel too far-fetched in our increasingly complicated world. The show has already predicted real-life events in episodes such as “The National Anthem” and “The Waldo Moment.”

Most recently, Black Mirror‘s season three episode titled “Nosedive” is reflecting the world beyond our screens. The episode depicts a reality where citizens lead their lives governed by an app based on a popularity scale, and a similar scenario is currently unfolding in China.

In a recent Wired article, journalist Mara Hvistendahl investigates a vast new social experiment currently taking place in China. An app called Zhima Credit is using big data to track and rank what citizens do – from their purchases, to pastimes, to mistakes – to give people ratings similar to a credit rating. The nuanced rating system will allow citizens with a higher rating to rent a car without a deposit, while those with lower scores may find themselves on no-fly lists and banned from other forms of travel.

Check out Netflix’s featurette on “Nosedive” below, and stay tuned for season four of the show, arriving December 29.

In other news, see how celebrities and media companies are reacting to the net neutrality repeal right here.

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