The People's Republic of The Future

In a deep state of mind, I assembled a team of extraordinary foreigners working on tech startups in Shenzhen. Hopefully a little beer will cheer you up and open your mind. Living in a heavily policed ​​communist country: does that bother you or don't you care? At least the assumption I had before coming from Australia was like entering something like a militarized state, as if things were going to be quite intense. But just like drinking a beer, like walking down the street, hanging out in the park, it's nice. I returned to my hometown in Australia, straight to the police station.

But then you're playing a spiked ball on the grass and suddenly the police stop. Well, you've... you've jaywalked, you've got facial recognition and the craziest thing, I actually understood this. Yes. So I jaywalked in Nan County and suddenly received a fine on WeChat. Is it instant? About twenty seconds later. I had money in my balance and it started coming out directly. That! It just came out. Not even authorized. Too crazy. This is real. Try to jaywalk in certain parts of Shenzhen and the government's facial recognition will detect you. There's even a board of shame with faces of recent offenders.

I am surprised and very concerned that they have your face in the facial recognition system, but they have everyone, that is, when you cross the border they take that photo of you. Yeah, yeah, so it's all in the system. They know where you are. That's terrible. It gets even scarier because Big Brother is watching what you do online. Most of the websites we know and love are blocked in China, replaced by their equivalents that the government can monitor: a kind of mirror of the cosmic Internet. I asked my friend Diane, originally from Shenzhen, to help me solve this situation.

Fittingly, she took me to a restaurant staffed exclusively by robots. These are some gnarly looking chickens, yeah chickens? Well... food for robots. I want you to help me with something. So if I call an American tech company, can you tell me the Chinese one? equivalent? Because you can't get Instagram or anything here, that's why. So let's do some things. So, Google will do it: Baidu. and Amazon, as well as JD.com and Taobao. Well, what about YouTube? Ah, Youku. Youku, Ichiyi. Facebook? Facebook, we have WeChat. We chat. Yes. Do you feel different? universe? All online materials are very important.

Our lives, it seems, are Chinese lives that create their own world. Yes, it is definitely like that. But like I said, in the case of Instagram, I was even surprised to see that Instagram was banned in China, but all the young

people

were there. Even so. Yes. It turns out that it is possible to access the freedom-loving Internet through so-called VPNs - alternative Internet connections that bypass government blocks. You won't get in trouble if they see you. Have you been on a VPN? For personal use, I don't think it's a big problem. It will be interesting to see how different worlds will work together in the

future

.

Yeah, definitely the younger generation, they... they're not just, oh, I'm satisfied with just staying in this. Yes, they are more curious. I arrived in Shenzhen hoping to find some basic facts and a clear understanding of what China's growing technological prowess means for the rest of us. I'm confused though, to be honest. The city is full of energy, desire and creativity. But exactly how these functions are addressed will remain an open question for years to come. What I hope is that the best parts of humanity and nature have a chance to thrive, and that 1984 can wait a few more decades to arrive.

In that sense, I tell you about this Dashboard Dog because it is obviously good and it is a pure pleasure.