Chinese legal scholar: AI could turn social rating into a surveillance tool — South China Morning Post
In China, Lin Jianxing, a doctoral student at the law school of Sichuan University, warned in a state-funded study that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in social rating systems could turn them into a tool for large-scale surveillance. This was reported by the South China Morning Post.
Risks of algorithmic assessment
Lin's article was published last month in the Journal of Sichuan Normal University. The research was funded as part of a project on the empirical study of social governance models and institutional innovation in Sichuan province.
According to the researcher's definition, social rating involves administrative bodies using big data analysis and predictive algorithms to convert people's online and offline activities into quantitative indicators. This is intended to help predict a person's potential actions and risks, as well as make important decisions concerning them.
Lin noted that algorithmic governance based on risk assessment could lead to opacity, large-scale surveillance and discrimination. He also stressed that the reliability of algorithms depends on the quality of the collected data and model design.
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Impact on services
According to the author, a high or low rating may not appear to be a direct restriction of rights and obligations, but may in fact affect how a person is treated in healthcare, financial lending and public services. In the absence of strict rules for handling data and oversight mechanisms, using citizens' digital footprints to create accurate profiles could shift the system from risk management to behavioral surveillance.
The social rating system examined by the researcher is part of the broader PRC social credit system. The article mentions four types of such systems, including blacklists for serious offenses, financial credit reporting and municipal systems that collect behavioral data and combine incentives with sanctions.
Chinese authorities are also expanding the use of AI in social governance. Last year, the State Council of the PRC published a plan for the safe and orderly deployment of the technology in the public sector. In Anhui province, in particular, a dynamic monitoring platform for social assistance was created that builds a database of low-income residents and provides for data exchange between government agencies.
