Topic: Social Scoring

The discussion turns to "predictive policing" and the "Siri" social scoring scandal in the Netherlands. Between 2004 and 2019, faulty algorithms falsely accused 26,000 Dutch parents of benefits fraud, leading to child removals, financial ruin, and suicides. The hosts argue that "AI" is being used as a smokescreen to deflect blame from government bureaucrats for these systemic failures.

The term "glitch" is being used by government officials to explain various systemic failures, including a computer crash in Houston that led to the release of 280 criminal defendants. President Obama also used the term to describe a regulation fix for insurance premiums. Critics argue that "glitch" is an unacceptable excuse for major technical outages and system vulnerabilities.

A German state is now allowing businesses to ban unvaccinated customers from purchasing essentials like groceries. Meanwhile, the Dutch Parliament voted down an amendment that would have prohibited the implementation of a social credit score system in the Netherlands.

Credit Karma is launching a new advertising campaign on TikTok that rewards users with "instant karma" (free items) for using their debit card. Critics argue this is a precursor to a social credit system, where financial rewards are tied to "correct" consumer behavior. Google is a major investor in Credit Karma, which is increasingly acting as an intermediary for behavioral-based credit contracts.

Adam Curry likens Credit Karma to a Chinese-style social credit score, suggesting it functions as a form of "digital slavery" by incentivizing specific financial behaviors. The conversation transitions to the Podcasting 2.0 initiative, which Curry describes as a necessary infrastructure project to protect the medium from corporate enclosure. John C. Dvorak compares the effort to preventing a "Big Dig" scenario for digital media.

Experian Boost is marketing a service that allows users to raise their credit scores by linking their streaming service payment history. Critics argue this represents the first phase of an American social credit system, where consumer behavior and media consumption are used to determine financial trustworthiness and access to credit.

Financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Ally Financial are reportedly incorporating non-traditional data, such as magazine subscriptions, into credit assessments. Companies like Meritize use academic transcripts and social factors to determine loan eligibility for students. This trend is viewed as a move toward a Chinese-style social credit system in the West.

The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is considering a proposal for HARPA to work with tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple to monitor users for mental illness. The "Safe Home" project aims to identify characteristics that could lead to violent behavior using data from Silicon Valley. Critics liken this proposal to a Chinese-style social credit score that could lead to the seizure of firearms from individuals on antidepressants.

The "Experian Boost" service is criticized as a tool for behavioral manipulation, encouraging users to grant access to utility payment data in exchange for a manufactured "Advantage" score. The hosts liken this to a Western version of China's social credit system, designed to train consumers to prioritize certain bills and install tracking apps.

The Credit Karma app is criticized as a precursor to a Chinese-style social scoring system in America. While users believe they are checking their official FICO score, they are actually viewing an "Advantage" score used to nudge them toward more debt and insurance products. With Google as a major shareholder, the app is described as a tool for behavior modification and data harvesting that lacks proper regulatory disclosure.

The discussion turns to the concept of social reputation scores, referencing the TV show "Black Mirror." They discuss the failure of Klout, a service that attempted to rank social media influence before being shut down by Lithium Technologies. The hosts brainstorm ideas for a "spooky" new reputation app that would track how often a person appears in others' photos.

Hillary Clinton describes the Chinese government's implementation of a surveillance state using facial recognition and a social credit score system. She warns that these sophisticated tools for controlling public opinion will likely be sold to other authoritarian regimes in Iran and North Korea.

Facebook is reportedly developing a trustworthiness rating for its users, which the hosts compare to China's social credit system. In a separate story, Mendocino County firefighters are suing Verizon for throttling their data during a wildfire. The hosts argue that net neutrality would actually prevent the priority access the firefighters are seeking.

China is expanding its social credit system nationwide, which has already barred 11 million citizens from flying and 4 million from using trains based on their behavior. CBS reporter Ben Tracy describes the system as an effort to "purify society." The discussion compares this to the American FICO score, noting how financial metrics are increasingly used to determine access to non-financial services like education.

The transition from personal banking relationships to algorithmic FICA scores is analyzed as a loss of individual identity. Social Security numbers are described as compromised identifiers that are frequently leaked in corporate data breaches. The hosts argue that banks should be held liable for fraudulent transactions rather than placing the burden of proof on the victims of identity theft.