Comments | _harlequin_: Another glimpse into the future

_harlequin_

Another glimpse into the future

Oct 17, 2010 19:13

When you can see the future, some people who can't often just call you an idiot, and by the time they've caught up, they've forgotten. So it's a thankless gift, but along those lines, I present to you part of the future of surveillance. The device I'm about to describe sounds far-fetched to some, even paranoid, but every part of this system either ( Read more... )

futureshock, predictions

Comments 10

penguin2 October 18 2010, 03:37:08 UTC

I'm hoping I have at least another 20 years left to my lifespan, but I also hope I'm truly gone before this becomes reality.

And yet...I saw this coming when your parents were children, and took steps. To this day there is no internet presence for any of my legal identities - and I haven't even tried that hard to be invisible. But more and more people will hopefully do what I did - no paper trails, no childhood photographs, no submitting to any sort of biometrics - and what I do - rarely leaving home, always wearing a hat with enough brim to hide my face when going out, not using banks or credit cards or loyalty cards or email addresses with any sort of traceable name on them, using other people to register my phones, etc. - to work against it. And FFS I'm not even a criminal, just someone who's always fiercely believed that unvetted strangers have no frakking right to pry into my personal life.

There are downsides, e.g. no travel and no access to medical care, but IMO it's worth it. I really, really, really hate Big Brother.

penguin2 October 18 2010, 03:39:48 UTC

p.s. Have you ever read The Light of Other Days, by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter? It reaches the same conclusions via somewhat more fantastical means :-)

mystichaos October 18 2010, 15:50:04 UTC

I have! :) though suppose you weren't asking me...

penguin2 October 19 2010, 13:30:28 UTC

That's all right, glad to hear it ;-)

kerfuffle mystichaos October 18 2010, 15:48:31 UTC

Kerfuffle, I think, is my new favorite word!

psh... glick October 18 2010, 18:55:55 UTC

my private parts are still private!!!
They are not floating around in cyberspace or within any database.

Re: psh... _harlequin_ October 18 2010, 19:38:31 UTC

By clever process of elimination, I conclude that you're not Brett Favre :)

cookiemon October 19 2010, 11:13:46 UTC

Silver lining... this technology doesn't need special government privileges like wiretapping does, and it isn't illegal, so eventually it won't just be limited to spooks and military - the public will have access to such systems. Perhaps one day it will be easy access like google maps and street view.

My future would be so bright right now if I was a stalker.