ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL CREDIT SYSTEM AND ITS USE IN THE “WAR OF PEOPLE” AGAINST COVID-19

Abstract

In 2015, China announced a national strategic plan whose goal is to become a dominant global technological superpower by the end of 2049. From that moment onwards, Made in China 2025 has become a major priority for both the Party and the state leader Xi Jinping. With its greatest tech companies driving force for R&D, China is one of the driving worldwide centers of AI improvement. The aim to become the world leader in AI would also mean having the opportunity to change the country’s reputation from exporter of cheap goods to one that put at the center the development and sale of high- quality products. Clearly this is a long-term project that also need the support of external investors. Artificial intelligence has also the outstanding capabilities for what concerns human welfare to provide considerable improvement in the health care system, in the education system and in the security system. But, given the fact that its borders are not clearly defined, on the contrary are quite blurred, it raises ethical, legal and securities issues that a well-prepared governance should address before finalizing the introduction of artificial intelligence in the daily life of its citizens. One of the most discussed topic in China nowadays is the one of the Social Credit System: a system that measure the creditworthiness of each individual and company through a score calculated on the basis of traditional and big data, determining the attribution of rewards or punishments depending on whether the individual or company behaves financially, politically and socially correct according to what is the general line followed by the Government. This kind of system reached its momentum during the spread of Covid-19 in fact it was one of the governing tools used in the attempt of reducing the spread of the virus. The system was enhanced to help with pandemic response efforts as well as to reduce the risk of harm from its ongoing operation in the scenario of unexpected events. The pandemic also served as a stress test for the Social Credit System, from which the leadership learned valuable lessons for the future. This thesis, based on central and local government records and official media accounts as well as researches published by scholars between 2019 and 2021, examines the raise of Social Credit System and its implementation focusing on how the spread of Covid-19 brought new challenges together with new opportunities to the System and consequently to China.