I didn't need that thought in my life, thank you. Seriously, though, this genuinely makes it possible to gently tweak an algorithm (which is absolutely invisible to anyone outside the company or the Chinese government) to nudge public opinion. Like, you could probably nudge elections by a percentage point or two, manufacture specific outrage about policies unfriendly to China, generate a bit of chaos with conspiracy theories when convenient, etc, etc. Black Mirror stuff. I
'm telling myself it's unlikely to actually happen but when I ask myself why I can't come up with a reassuring answer. The technology is there. The control is there. The willingness is certainly there. I guess it would be a bigger endeavor and there might be leaks of it happening. But, ultimately, a few dozen people could do a lot of damage.