Senior Writer
Willis Sparks
Senior Writer
Willis Sparks is a senior editor for GZERO Daily. He is also a Director in the Global Macro practice at Eurasia Group, where he has worked since 2005. He has made speeches on international politics on every continent except Antarctica. Willis holds degrees from Brown University, the Juilliard School, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. He also holds an honorary degree from the Moscow Art Theatre School. A native of Macon, Georgia, Willis has worked as a stuntman at New York's Metropolitan Opera. As a child, he declined an opportunity to spend an afternoon riding the Great American Scream Machine, a rollercoaster, with Ronald McDonald, for money. He has never regretted that decision.
Jan 05, 2018
A tweet from the Washington Post’s @emilyrauhala grabbed our attention this week: “I’m on the Tianjin to Beijing train and the automated announcement just warned us that breaking train rules will hurt our personal credit scores!” In every country, people want access to services and protection from those who break rules.
China has introduced an early-stage social credit system that can use the massive amounts of data it collects from citizens to punish those who cheat, steal, pollute, and otherwise endanger fellow citizens. But the state can also use the information to decide whether it can trust you, and your credit score can determine what sort of future you and your family can expect. Imagine the possibilities.
