In the Wired article about Alipay, it details the Chinese society ran but the new app. This app allows users to pay for things as well as manage their credit scores in the palm of their hands. This is similar to what we do in America as well. We have become a society that relies on their phone for everything, whether that is buying, scheduling, communicating, researching, etc. The closest thing to Alipay is Apple pay and Google pay in which you can pay for things through your phone vs using a card.
Minorities were also a topic that was discussed in the article when talking about the early stages of FICO. They said that before FICO was established, credit bureaus would rely on what they heard to determine whether or not someone was going to pay back loans. They also stated that at this time, applicants' race could be counted against them when it came to getting things. This is still relevant today because minorities are still looked at differently in some aspects when it comes to applying for various positions.
Credit Scores are very important to be successful and get the things you want. In the article credit scores are very important in society, it is looked at as a type of social status, similar to the show. The people with higher scores, get the better things and get better opportunities. The downside is that it can drop easily by you buying something not supported by the government or even having friends that have lower scores. This is real life here but to a certain extent, credit scores are good for when you talking financial loan things but it won't drop based on people you are friends with or if you buy video games and alcohol.
After reading both articles and watching the black mirror episode, it really made me look at things differently. The show highlighted a dystopian society that was purely based on social media presence as well as what everybody thought of you causing there to be an ongoing race to get the highest score. The articles were a little different but follow the same idea, where the government follows what citizens do and put things on this sort of scoreboard. The fact that this is reality is crazy to me because I couldn't imagine a world purely based on who you are friends with and how the government views you in their eyes. Obviously, you don't want to break the law but there is no need to be that uptight and strict about what you are doing to the point where everyone looks at you differently for having a different score.
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