Modern China is often compared to the utopias that the creators of Black Mirror show. The technological progress of the Middle Kingdom is truly amazing. We do not undertake to judge whether this is good or bad, but simply talk about what the world might be like in the future.
Rating of people and companies
Over the course of several years, China has been introducing a common system of social trust credit, into which every single citizen of the country will be gradually enrolled. The scheme is already operating in 30 cities across the country.
The state assigns each Chinese an index of personal reputation, depending on which he can either receive bonuses or, on the contrary, lose them. This applies to the issuance of bank loans, the purchase of housing, the opportunity to get a prestigious job. Even the cost of renting bikes depends on the rating of the person.
It’s easy to lose points: for example, book a table in a restaurant and not show up for dinner, without canceling the reservation. Positive deeds include charity or, say, garbage thrown out in the right place. The more points, the more privileges: more luxurious, useful, cheaper goods and services are available to high-ranking ones.
So far, the system is tied to the identification cards of the Chinese, but in the future they plan to transfer it to work with Big Data. Information about people will be collected by online services, social networks, institutions and shops and transferred to a single state register.
By the way, in China, a similar rating has been in place for companies for a long time. Particular attention is paid to public catering networks. Ratings are formed based on the results of inspections by special authorities and visitor reviews, and the information is in the public domain.
strange transport
In 2010, a prototype bus resembling a voracious monster was presented at the Beijing High-Tech Exhibition. Passengers sit on top of the vehicle and it is propelled by side blocks that run on specially built rails. At this time, cars are quietly scurrying under the bus.
The thing runs on electricity. The port city of Qinhuangdao was chosen as a pilot city for the project.
Another amazing vehicle is a self-driving hybrid train, bus and tram, which was introduced by the Chinese company CRRC. It moves along a predetermined path, but rails are not needed for this. The thing is modular, it is possible to cling additional wagons to it. And, of course, it runs on electricity.
The Chinese also built the world’s fastest commercial train, the Foxing. It travels between Shanghai and Beijing and reaches speeds of up to 400 km / h, while consuming less electricity than other models.
Mobile executions
In China, public executions are still in use, and they are also trying to make them streamlined and modern. Execution invitations are sent out via social media, but there is also a more savory technology – mobile execution vans that travel around the country.
The execution takes place directly inside the vehicle: the convict is injected with a special deadly solution. The authorities openly show the live broadcast of the execution process to the suffering.
Face scanning
In China, a face is a person’s passport. Face recognition is used in almost all spheres of life. For example, if you crossed the road in the wrong place in the city of Jinan, the cameras will scan your face and take it to the public, and also send it to the police. There you will be identified by the database and a bitter pill of punishment will be prescribed.
China’s airports have smart check-in. The procedure can be completed in a few seconds by scanning the passenger’s face. The Chinese KFC offers an interesting attraction:
the system scans the customer’s face and gives out a personalized menu depending on gender, age and, what is most funny, facial expressions. And in Beijing, there are toilets with scanner-equipped toilet paper dispensers. They recognize the visitor and give out the coveted napkins – exactly 60 cm! – only if he visited the restroom at least 10 minutes ago.
virtual celebrities
The Chinese are very fond of pop idols, even if they are not real. For example, the singer Luo Tianyi is a singing hologram who doubles as a youth ambassador for the Chinese Communist Party. This lady is in high demand: she constantly tours the country with concerts, earns millions and even advertises consumer goods. The Chinese are also going crazy from another virtual singer, Japanese Hatsune Miku.
The repertoire for such stars, which is interesting, is often invented by the fans themselves, and their voices are synthesized from the voices of other people. In general, nothing of their own.
Apps for Politicians
Special applications have been created for members of the Chinese Communist Party. This is again a tracking system (well, the Chinese authorities love to keep everything under control!), which, in addition to assessing the activities and activity of officials, offers them various programs for self-education and communication with each other.
Large Chinese companies, such as China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group, order applications for internal use from IT specialists and regularly test employees with their help.
No paperwork
The Chinese come to the restaurant without wallets. They don’t need credit cards or cash. Using a smartphone with the national communication system WeChat, something like our VKontakte, they scan the barcode installed on each table, and voila – the current menu of the establishment pops up on their phone.
