Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

bits.blogs.nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

161–170 of 188 posts

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#161

Post by nhangen »

arrrg wrote: post #157
freehunter wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know what's vile and barbaric? Sexual harassment. Just because it's easier to see your broken nose than it is to see how traumatized a victim of sexual harassment is doesn't mean violence is immediately wrong. What you're arguing is for blaming the victim.

Someone who is violent without reason is not just a victim, they are also a perpetrator. There is no reason to ever be violent if it isn’t absolute necessary to defend oneself. Ok, maybe pushing someone away can be ok in that moment, however the glee with which people here talk about violence is absolutely vile. Violence is not ok. It is to never ever be used, only in the most dire emergencies.

Vile? Wow...don't get out much?

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#162

Post by sgustard »

ryanmcbride wrote: post #113
corresation wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To offer a counterpoint, I thought it was a terribly written piece that is like "cliches about glass 101". Sure he had the conversation with the gentleman regarding winking...or maybe he read about that app and thought he would milk the "Google Glass dystopia" a little further (he had another ridiculous piece that made waves about Google Glass' "shine" wearing off, which is funny because I've read the same fear-monge…

But with google glass, suddenly small discrete cameras will be everywhere! Not like today, where for a picture to be taken, a huge flash bulb has to explode, and the subject has to stand perfectly still for 10 minutes.

That's where we're headed, right? Smartphone cameras are so small already that they could be embedded in a pair of glasses without the dorky hardware hanging off the side. Make them sunglasses and no one can see you winking. Or just video your entire day then edit it later to extract creepy stills at your leisure.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#163

Post by nooneelse »

georgemcbay wrote: post #143

I'm a lot more worried about the privacy implications on a macro scale than I am about some random person getting a photo of my private bits. The scary part of Glass-like devices taken to their logical conclusion for me isn't the little individual invasions of privacy (though those are also unfortunate), but the massive amount of real-time, real-world information collected in the aggregate. If Glass-like devices are…

Another scenario, Google constantly runs a system looking at tweets, texts, and news stories. Anytime something happens that is criminal and significant enough for it to notice, it turns up the logging for all the Glass devices in the area.

If it were opt-in to send the resulting log to law enforcement, that would be totally fine. If not, things get worrisome. But what about in between? Say sending the log in is only done when the user clicks ok, but the police subpena Google for who all had their Glass devices in that area, so they can contact them directly. Gets into the area of withholding evidence and such.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#164

Post by arrrg »

nhangen wrote: post #161
arrrg wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone who is violent without reason is not just a victim, they are also a perpetrator. There is no reason to ever be violent if it isn’t absolute necessary to defend oneself. Ok, maybe pushing someone away can be ok in that moment, however the glee with which people here talk about violence is absolutely vile. Violence is not ok. It is to never ever be used, only in the most dire emergencies.

Vile? Wow...don't get out much?

Do you really think violence is acceptable in any way?

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#165

Post by nhangen »

arrrg wrote: post #164
nhangen wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vile? Wow...don't get out much?

Do you really think violence is acceptable in any way?

Yes actually. I don't seek confrontation, but I prefer a world wherein men can settle differences with fists instead of weapons or court rooms.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#166

Post by betterunix »

georgemcbay wrote: post #143

I'm a lot more worried about the privacy implications on a macro scale than I am about some random person getting a photo of my private bits. The scary part of Glass-like devices taken to their logical conclusion for me isn't the little individual invasions of privacy (though those are also unfortunate), but the massive amount of real-time, real-world information collected in the aggregate. If Glass-like devices are…

"The scary part of Glass-like devices taken to their logical conclusion for me isn't the little individual invasions of privacy (though those are also unfortunate), but the massive amount of real-time, real-world information collected in the aggregate."

As opposed to the world without Google Glass, where people are constantly taking pictures in public and then uploading those pictures to Facebook? Honestly, singling out Google Glass is just a diversion, probably driven by Google's competitors who could not see how a head-mounted display could be useful.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#167

Post by betterunix »

DanBC wrote: post #42

Creepers have been creeping for years and years and years. They peer through curtains; they make spyholes in cubicle walls, and with digital cameras they hide cameras in ceilings and books and showers and shoes. Voyeuristic porn is a category. Upskirt is word popular enough to have an understood meaning. I'm a bloke. I'm not worried by those creepers. But I am uneasy about some users of Google Glass. I'd be really un…

"I'd be really uncomfortable if I was standing at a urinal and someone was next to me still wearing Google Glass."

What if that person is deaf, and Glass is doing speech-to-text for them, helping them get through their day? What if they are a foreigner, and Glass is translating signs, instructions, and spoken language for them?

There are a lot of good uses for Google Glass that should not be ignored just because it has a camera and a microphone. Privacy concerns are no greater for Glass than for any smartphone -- significant, sure, but nothing new. It's just a smartphone in a different form factor.

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#168

Post by kevinbluer »

sgustard wrote: post #162
ryanmcbride wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But with google glass, suddenly small discrete cameras will be everywhere! Not like today, where for a picture to be taken, a huge flash bulb has to explode, and the subject has to stand perfectly still for 10 minutes.

That's where we're headed, right? Smartphone cameras are so small already that they could be embedded in a pair of glasses without the dorky hardware hanging off the side. Make them sunglasses and no one can see you winking. Or just video your entire day then edit it later to extract creepy stills at your leisure.

Already in the works... http://www.epiphanyeyewear.com

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#169

Post by ignostic »

potatolicious wrote: post #32
ignostic wrote: post #2

We should never have had any expectation of privacy in public places. I think what scares most people is that they're going to end up on the internet for some reason. Perhaps this shows how self-obsessed we are: to think that anyone is going to care about us walking down the street minding our own business. Maybe it's the uncertainty that makes people uneasy. I can walk down the street recording everyone with my smar…

It's not as irrational a fear as you're making it out to be. Check out any number of tumblr blogs. People of Wal-Mart. Look at That Fucking Hipster, etc. Or a very, very large section of /r/pics or /r/funny on Reddit. Even ignoring the extreme cases like /r/creepshots, the Internet has already proven that it greatly enjoys taking pictures of strangers in everyday life and mocking them mercilessly. People would like t…

I probably didn't clarify the core point well enough. Even if you're right - if the fear is rational - what is your alternative? Banning filming in public? Some of the more corrupt police forces would love nothing more than to have evidence of police brutality tossed out on those grounds.

To answer the tangent, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representativeness_heuristic

Re: At Google Conference, Cameras Even in the Bathroom

#170

Post by obviouslygreen »

betterunix wrote: post #167
DanBC wrote: post #42

Creepers have been creeping for years and years and years. They peer through curtains; they make spyholes in cubicle walls, and with digital cameras they hide cameras in ceilings and books and showers and shoes. Voyeuristic porn is a category. Upskirt is word popular enough to have an understood meaning. I'm a bloke. I'm not worried by those creepers. But I am uneasy about some users of Google Glass. I'd be really un…

"I'd be really uncomfortable if I was standing at a urinal and someone was next to me still wearing Google Glass." What if that person is deaf, and Glass is doing speech-to-text for them, helping them get through their day? What if they are a foreigner, and Glass is translating signs, instructions, and spoken language for them? There are a lot of good uses for Google Glass that should not be ignored just because it h…

And none of those things prevents them from taking it off and hanging it on a pocket or in their collar while using a urinal.

The only excuse for this that I can come up with is if, like someone I recall being posted about around here, it was actually mounted to their head in a way that makes it impossible or impractical to remove.

Post reply on HN