>Xi Jinping removes term limits for himself
>China bans 12 million people from leaving the country, using the "social credit" system as a pretext
>13th five year plan requires internet connected surveillance cameras in people's homes by 2020
>China has very quietly removed the bible from online search results
I see news articles about this occasionally, but I think this is much, much bigger news than people are giving it credit for. We're watching the first real-life implementation of an automated, AI-managed, ubiquitous surveillance network, which is tightly connected to a similarly automated, compulsory reputation system. This could be a return to Maoist China, except with orders of magnitude more surveillance due to the price of video recording/processing/transmission dropping significantly. It begs the question, how can dissent even form in a nation where you can be reported AND punished, even if no other human is interacting with you?
The idea that humans can always rebel, and therefore societies will maintain some minimum level of freedom has never actually been tested in such a highly technologically advanced context. I'm inclined to say its not true, simply because I don't see how someone could win against such a system internally. What will we do when this inspires similar systems in the U.S.?