Spying and Bigger Brother

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

Why are we playing games with our privacy?

Soon we will have to choose between digital isolation and allowing the tech lords to watch us at home

Video surveillance is a topic I’ve returned to several times – not just because of what the technology can already do, but also because of what it will be able to do in the not-so-distant future. As the hardware goes digital, tiny and cheap, and the software becomes super smart, the era of public anonymity is drawing to a close.

Further reading

Facial recognition systems will imprison us all

By Peter Franklin

But at least we have our homes – private spaces which we can shield from prying eyes (including those of the electronic kind). Of course, if you want to take endless selfies with your smartphone or set up your own security camera you can – but it’s under your control.

Or is it? Last week, Facebook launched a new gadget, which caused some consternation on that front. Mike Isaac and Brian X Chen reported on the launch for the New York Times:

“On Monday, Facebook introduced a pair of video-calling devices — Portal and Portal Plus — to help expand its reach into people’s living rooms.

“Portal and Portal Plus, which have a 12-megapixel camera with high-definition video and artificial intelligence software, can be used to do video chats. The A.I.-powered camera follows users as they move, letting them converse without sitting stiffly. The devices also include Amazon’s Alexa, which people can command to play music or check the weather.”

I suppose it’s reassuring that the company isn’t insensible to the obvious worries over privacy and hacking:

“To address privacy concerns with Portal and Portal Plus, Facebook said the products include an electronic kill switch for the front-facing camera, as well as a cover for the lens. In addition, video calls are encrypted, and the camera’s A.I. technology runs on the device itself, not on Facebook’s servers, the company said.”

And yet one has to ask whether such products – “digital assistants” that watch and/or listen to their owners – are habituating us to a culture of surveillance in our own homes.

Further reading

‘Alexa, are you turning my kid into a brat?’

By Peter Franklin

Yes, it’s all about improving the user experience – our gadgets attending more closely to our needs and minimising the effort required to instruct them. However, there is a progression to these things: novelty becomes convenience, which becomes indispensability, and that, in turn, provides the provider with a means of control.

Not that long ago, an internet connection was a convenience. For the first time one could download software content directly, instead of laboriously loading it up from a physical storage medium (‘insert floppy disk 6 of 10’). But what started off as an option quickly became essential to using a computer. Unless one wishes to live a highly restricted digital life, one now has no option but to be online. This has given the tech companies a great deal of power over how we use their products – and over the data we generate in the process.

How long, I wonder, before we have to choose between digital isolation and granting the tech lords to the right to watch and to listen to what goes on at home?

To understand where this might be going next, keep an eye on China. Here’s a fascinating report from Zheping Huang of the South China Morning Post:

“Tencent Holdings, the world’s top-grossing games publisher, will use facial recognition technology to detect minors amid tighter scrutiny by the Chinese government over concerns excessive video gaming is hurting public health.

“Tencent’s blockbuster mobile title, Honour of Kings, will be the first to test the technology, with some 1,000 new users in Beijing and Shenzhen selected to verify their identities through camera checks…”

The company even has a video app that will blur the screen if the viewer gets too close to it.

My guess is that many parents, whether China or the West, would welcome these protections. It certainly takes the effort out of monitoring what their children are doing online. In theory, video confirmation of identity would also stop internet paedophiles from posing as children – another parental worry.

Further reading

Who’s that watching your every move? Don’t worry, it’s only everyone…

By Peter Franklin

But think what else this technology could be used for. Paywalled content providers could use it to stop people from sharing log-ins. People who violate the rules on social media sites could be prevented from switching to another account. Marketing experts could analyse facial expressions to find out how viewers react to advertisements. Legitimate applications, one could argue – but a further extension of big tech into private life.

And then, of course, there’s what oppressive regimes would do once they have eyes and ears in every home. People won’t just have to be careful about what they say in private, but also what is unsaid: the fleeting scowl crossing a face when the great leader appears on TV.

It’ll all be more benign in the West; but someone, somewhere will still be watching.

What is Wrong with Formal Education | Armstrong Economics

Posted on by johnbarleycorn12

QUESTION: I too am French and nobody in school ever connected the weather to the defeat of Napoleon even with so many deaths on his failed invasion of Russia. History is interesting, but it seems to be taught based upon some political agenda. What would you recommend for students to study since the formal education system is such a failure? PG ANSWER: Yes, when I was in Paris, I was asked if I would debate the top three economic students. I agreed. However, instead of a confrontation for TV viewers, it turned out to be a question session of how to fix the French economy conceding that what they were being taught was wrong. From a historical viewpoint, I always refer to contemporary writers. However, you must keep in mind that history is very often written only by the victor. We all learn quite a lot about history in school, but it is typically slanted. Nevertheless, it is also true that who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. However, those of us who know history are also doomed to watch others repeat it. Ever since man has done anything, there has been someone nearby going “huh, maybe I should write this down.” The way to understand the past REQUIRES a discipline that embraces all the fields of science. Back in the 1980s, I attended a lecture by a Scientist on the findings of the ice core samples from Greenland. When they disp[layed a graf of the energy output of the sun and documented from the ice core samples, I was stunned. I approached the presenter and informed them that their chart projected the rise and fall of empires which matched the Economic Confidence Model. Back in the 1980s, I knew the model worked, but I could not explain why other than simply saying there were cycles. Suddenly, I saw history impacted by weather. I knew the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake set off the Panic of 1907 due to capital flows and that led to the creation of the Federal Reserves with all its branches that operated independently to manage the capital flows internally within the nation. By keeping an open mind, I began to look at every field of science for explanations. By putting everything together, the picture became focused and suddenly the light went off. The key is being a diverse explorer. School is the opposite. I would go to Physics class and the professor would say nothing is random. Einstein said he did not believe God played dice with the universe. I then went to economics class and the professor said everything is random so don’t bother trying to forecast something. Because it’s random, that meant government could and should manipulate society to eliminate recessions. They have not succeeded in doing so even once.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/education/what-is-wrong-with-formal-education/

Thus the need for critical thinking skills