Through a Face Scanner Darkly
newyorker.com
Through a Face Scanner Darkly
1–10 of 41 posts
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#2Everyone deserves a second chance, except sex offenders.
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#3... Suddenly 'Groucho Glasses' became a standard addition to every outfit.
That is a fashion change I could agree with!
Edit: Combine with LEDs for extra fun!
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#4Well, if there was ever any doubt that technology like Google Glass encourages creepy mass surveillance and that powerful new privacy laws are overdue, I guess there isn't any more.
As far as I can see, the path this kind of technology leads us down is only likely to end one of two ways:
1. We develop a more open and forgiving society that acknowledges everyone has faults and treats everyone fairly as the person they are today.
2. We create a society where every time you leave your home, or even in your own home, you constantly have to guard every little thing you say or do, including giving up all kinds of otherwise useful or enjoyable activities that might (justifiably or otherwise) reflect unfavourably on you in the future to someone whose opinion matters at the time.
Sadly, while there might be many people in the world who would both enjoy and respect the first option, it's not really an option at all right now, because there are also a lot of people in the world who will exploit personal information at the expense of the subject. Sometimes that is simply because they aren't very nice themselves. Sometimes it's for more indirect reasons like the way our societies have set up commercial incentives for businesses.
As long as everything from human nature to our economic systems are stacked against the transparency/fairness outcome, maybe it's best if we don't go too far down that path. This seems like a great example of the saying that just because we can do something, it doesn't mean we should.
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#5My advice as a research scientist at company that makes face recognition software: big, dark sunglasses.
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#6Well, if there was ever any doubt that technology like Google Glass encourages creepy mass surveillance and that powerful new privacy laws are overdue, I guess there isn't any more. As far as I can see, the path this kind of technology leads us down is only likely to end one of two ways: 1. We develop a more open and forgiving society that acknowledges everyone has faults and treats everyone fairly as the person they…
>powerful new privacy laws are overdue
Problem with any new privacy laws is that they will only restrict us, not the government. Since the government is the only one with the legal authority to torture and imprison and rob us, I don't much see the point.
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#7As is the case with FB, Twitter, and the other social networks, young people will not see a problem with this, at least while they're young. As they grow older and live their lives, and have medical problems, have brushes with the law, have problems at work, etc etc, and more information is collected, they will realize one day that the sum total of the profile now collected about them, in the cloud, is suddenly having a genuine real impact on their lives... and it will be too late. Years too late.
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#8My advice as a research scientist at company that makes face recognition software: big, dark sunglasses.
How about: No online profile?
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#9"It’s much easier to meet interesting new people when we can simply look at someone, see their Facebook, review their LinkedIn page, or maybe even see their dating-site profile."
How sad.
Re: Through a Face Scanner Darkly
#10Well, if there was ever any doubt that technology like Google Glass encourages creepy mass surveillance and that powerful new privacy laws are overdue, I guess there isn't any more. As far as I can see, the path this kind of technology leads us down is only likely to end one of two ways: 1. We develop a more open and forgiving society that acknowledges everyone has faults and treats everyone fairly as the person they…
>powerful new privacy laws are overdue Problem with any new privacy laws is that they will only restrict us, not the government. Since the government is the only one with the legal authority to torture and imprison and rob us, I don't much see the point.
That's such an oversimplification, both in how it treats the "government" has a single undivided entity, and on how it implies that illegal acts are the only thing that people have to fear, that I don't have the will to counter argue.
But regardless of that, privacy is a right onto itself, it shouldn't need justification. It's violations of thereof that should need to be justified.