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Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

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Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#141

Post by embedding-shape »

LocalH wrote: post #124
afavour wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US government is a democracy and can be replaced should it exceed people’s limits. The CCP… uh, not so much. I’m not trying to say the US government is faultless but it amazes me how often I see this kind of anti-democratic institition sentiment.

> The US government is a democracy and can be replaced I'm not sure this is as axiomatic as many think, in 2025

I've already placed my bets that current president will be the first to serve at least three terms since the two-term limit was introduced. Judging by what's happening, seems like a safer and safer bet every day.

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#142

Post by stronglikedan »

leeoniya wrote: post #92
kklisura wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And let me share this reply by Garry Tan, CEO of YC, after someone made a comment that Flock might be _pretty dystopian_ [1][2]: > You're thinking Chinese surveillance > US-based surveillance helps victims and prevents more victims [1] https://x.com/neurajordan/status/1963303084609966288 [2] https://x.com/garrytan/status/1963310592615485955

> You're thinking Chinese surveillance the big irony, of course, is that i'm much more comfortable with China surveilling me than the US, since the latter can throw me in jail, seize my assets, and ruin my family's life, while the former cannot.

why would the former bother, when all they have to do is take you to one of their secret police stations in the US and disappear you?

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#143

Post by embedding-shape »

mikkupikku wrote: post #121
afavour wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US government is a democracy and can be replaced should it exceed people’s limits. The CCP… uh, not so much. I’m not trying to say the US government is faultless but it amazes me how often I see this kind of anti-democratic institition sentiment.

> it amazes me how often I see this kind of anti-democratic institition sentiment. leeoniya didn't say anything about democracy. The practical reality is that regardless of what forms of government are involved, whichever government has the ability to arrest you is the government which is the greatest threat in your day-to-day life.

> government has the ability to arrest you is the government which is the greatest threat in your day-to-day life

Assuming every government is the same, which I'm not so sure about. I rather be arrested by the German government than the US government, mainly because I don't want to disappear to black site and be made to disappear for years while I'm t̶o̶r̶t̶u̶r̶e̶d̶ receiving enhanced discussion techniques. At least I know I'll be treated relatively OK by Germany, while my fear is pretty much the opposite from a lot of other governments out there.

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#144

Post by givemeethekeys »

gruez wrote: post #94
givemeethekeys wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

You're probably being facetious, but aiding criminals isn't illegal unless you're knowingly doing it. Signal is known to be used by criminals, and on top their app is specifically designed to frustrate law enforcement, yet they stayed clear of lawsuits.

Not the same at all because Signal helps celebrities and very important public figures communicate securely and privately.

Flock is helping the rapists stalk their ex-wives.

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#145

Post by femiagbabiaka »

kklisura wrote: post #58
kklisura wrote: post #46

For more context here Flock Safety is a YC-backed company [1][2] [1] https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/flock-safety [2] https://x.com/garrytan/status/1856016868580151615

And let me share this reply by Garry Tan, CEO of YC, after someone made a comment that Flock might be _pretty dystopian_ [1][2]: > You're thinking Chinese surveillance > US-based surveillance helps victims and prevents more victims [1] https://x.com/neurajordan/status/1963303084609966288 [2] https://x.com/garrytan/status/1963310592615485955

Another sign of Chinese ideological dominance is that nobody can conceive of a future that does not mimic China's solutions to social problems. Trump says frequently that he's jealous of Xi's position as dictator, tech firms envy 996 culture, public safety advocates are pivoting to restricting internet speech and constant surveillance.. etc. etc.

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#146

Post by embedding-shape »

array_key_first wrote: post #126
afavour wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US government is a democracy and can be replaced should it exceed people’s limits. The CCP… uh, not so much. I’m not trying to say the US government is faultless but it amazes me how often I see this kind of anti-democratic institition sentiment.

It's not anti-democratic, it's just pragmatic. Yes the US is a democracy, but a lot of our systems suck ass and are also close in proximity. You DO NOT want to get into legal trouble in the US. Our justice system is beyond fucked. If there's one way to permanently ruin your life in the US, it's getting into legal trouble. You're better off smoking crack cocaine, that's probably healthier for your livelihood. I don't…

> I don't know about China's legal system, but even assuming it's more fucked, it's all the way over there. Not here.

You're saying that the US legal system is extremely bad, shouldn't the assumption be that other countries have it better? I don't know much about either country's legal systems, but I do know that if I feel like my country is extremely bad at something, other countries probably do it better, at least that what I'll assume until I see evidence of something else.

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#147

Post by array_key_first »

gruez wrote: post #45
givemeethekeys wrote: post #24

At what point does the top brass at Flock get arrested?

For what? Under current jurisprudence collecting license plates images isn't illegal, because there's no expectation of privacy in public. They could post the information online if they wanted to and they'd be in the clear. It's fine to object to ANPR networks on the basis of "mass surveillance" or whatever, but screaming for people to be arrested without legal basis, just because you don't like what they're doing is…

I mean, stalking is very clearly illegal.

The main issue is that we have a different set of laws that govern businesses and that govern private citizens.

If I set up a camera in a local park and programmed it to zoom into children's faces and stream it directly to my computer, I am surely going to jail.

But if I set up 100 cameras to do just that, baby, that's just business.

It's almost paradoxical. The more evil I do, the less illegal it becomes. The greater the scale of harm I inflict, the more palatable it is. It's a get out of jail free card.

Are you a psychopath? Love to kill people? Well, don't use knives or guns silly! Instead, form an LLC and give people poison. You'll kill 100x more people with 100x less consequences!

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#148

Post by therobots927 »

stronglikedan wrote: post #142
leeoniya wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're thinking Chinese surveillance the big irony, of course, is that i'm much more comfortable with China surveilling me than the US, since the latter can throw me in jail, seize my assets, and ruin my family's life, while the former cannot.

why would the former bother, when all they have to do is take you to one of their secret police stations in the US and disappear you?

Still a much lower risk than Kristi Noem deciding you represent a national security risk because you tweeted “Fk ICE”

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#149

Post by Terr_ »

gruez wrote: post #109
goda90 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Fascism is characterized by support for a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived interest of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. These things don't just happen overnight. It's not crying wolf when you see the wolf on the horizon running…

>These things don't just happen overnight. It's not crying wolf when you see the wolf on the horizon running towards you. So were vaccine mandates and passports "fascism" as well, even though they melted away after the pandemic ended, contrary to some who thought it was going to be part of some new world order?

Group A: "Mandatory masks in crowds during an airborne pandemic is fascism! Watch out!"

Group B: "Throwing non-citizens into concentration camps using 'wartime' laws without trial is fascism! Watch out!"

You: "Group A was foolish, therefore Group B is foolish, because all warnings against fascism are equally un-grounded and meritless for some reason."

Re: Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves

#150

Post by ok_dad »

stronglikedan wrote: post #142
leeoniya wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You're thinking Chinese surveillance the big irony, of course, is that i'm much more comfortable with China surveilling me than the US, since the latter can throw me in jail, seize my assets, and ruin my family's life, while the former cannot.

why would the former bother, when all they have to do is take you to one of their secret police stations in the US and disappear you?

America probably invented extraordinary rendition.
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