Social Cooling
8 hours ago
- #Privacy
- #Social Credit
- #Big Data
- Big Data leads to 'Social Cooling', where surveillance changes behavior, limiting risk-taking and free speech.
- Data brokers infer personal details (e.g., religion, political views, health) by comparing patterns in disclosed data.
- Digital reputations based on biased algorithms can restrict opportunities (jobs, loans, ads, dating).
- Examples: Women see fewer high-paying job ads; 'bad friends' may raise loan costs; social posts influence tax audits.
- People alter behavior for better scores, fostering conformity, risk-aversion, and reduced protest against injustice.
- China’s 'social credit score' system punishes low scorers with limited jobs, loans, and travel options.
- Social Cooling parallels Global Warming: invisible, complex, and requiring multi-stakeholder solutions.
- Key issues: Loss of privacy, inability to forget mistakes, and pressure to conform to algorithmic standards.
- Solutions need public awareness, nuanced data/privacy understanding, and rights to error-forgiveness in a data-driven world.