06-01, 10:00–10:25 (Europe/Prague), Flower Stage
What if every good deed we performed earned us points? What if our positive behavior determined our societal standing, propelling us to the highest ranks and rewarding us with a plethora of privileges?
The Middle Kingdom has initiated one of the largest human experiments in history: rewarding citizens and organizations deemed trustworthy. This presentation analyzes the criteria for these rewards and punishments, questioning whether such a system could be adapted for liberal democracies. Or are similar systems already in place in our liberal democracies with credit scoring, personality profiling on social media, and other mechanisms? Additionally, the presentation makes clear that this experiment is just one among hundreds of projects in China, most of which remain unknown to its citizens.
Martin Woesler is academic supervisor of the research project SCORING, funded by the German Ministry of Education and Science, hosted by Witten/Herdecke University and Leuphana University Lüneburg. He is also Director of the Research Centre of Excellence in Changsha, funded by the EU. His research interests include AI, Digitalization in Asia, Europe, and the USA, cultural comparison, translation studies, comparative literature. Woesler simultaneously holds professorship positions in Asia and Europe. Newest publication with Martin Warnke: Social Cybernetics In Statu Nascendi, Berlin: Matthes & Seitz 2024. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-woesler/