Summary

​

This project examines the development of the social credit system in China from a cultural and social perspective. It aims to empirically investigate the lived experience of social credit among individuals, families, and communities, in the context of China’s larger ambition to build a ‘digital civilisation’ through technological advancement. Expected outcomes include policy briefings, reports, and an open-access research hub, as well as agenda-setting academic publications. The project will advance public understanding of and inform policy responses to automated decision-making and society in both Western and non-Western societies.

 

National interest

​

As the first in-depth empirical study on the social implications of the social credit system in China, this project will provide significant economic, social and cultural benefits to the Australian community. It will inform the Australian public of social and cultural structures and values of non-Western communities and societies as they are transformed and impacted by automation technologies. It will result in a better understanding of the sociocultural factors informing individual, organisational, and national attitudes towards digital technologies and cyber security. The project will enhance Australian national research capacity and help secure Australia’s place at the forefront of global research on automated decision-making and Chinese society. Outputs from this project, in the format of policy briefings and opinion pieces, as well as academic outputs, will be of high value to policy analysis and development across industry, think tanks, government and community groups seeking constructive engagement with digital China