Under the slogan, ‘once untrustworthy, always restricted’ China’s planned AI (artificial intelligence)-controlled ‘social credit’ system will bring a new depth of intervention into the lives of Chinese citizens, including Christians.
The Chinese Government pilot schemes, in cities including Beijing and Shanghai, are underpinned by a vast network of advanced surveillance technology which uses face recognition to monitor location and track movement. Individuals’ social ‘scores’ are updated in live CCTV streams as they are going about their daily lives.
Punishments
Those who break Government rules or do not conform will be subject to a variety of punishments that range from the inconvenient – Internet throttling and slower hotel checkouts – to the life changing, including flight bans and restrictions on loans and rent. Chinese Christians, who have seen a Government crackdown on unofficial ‘house churches’ and online Bible sales, could be facing an increasingly Orwellian future.
