While everyone’s been consumed with the Mueller investigation, Barr’s stonewalling and, of course, Trump, another American reality show has been slowly but steadily growing – and you’re the contestant. But this one has less entertainment value than the other distractions that define life in the US these days. This one is about surveillance. Your surveillance.
George Orwell’s Big Brother is now old. Much older than the game show with the same name. But who cares, really? Who cares if the digital infrastructure we all love is also the greatest surveillance machine in the history of mankind? Who cares if there are countless digital systems that track where we are, where we go, what we eat, what we think, who we like, who we love, where we bank, what we know and who we hate – among lots of other things they know all too well because we remind them over and over again?
Is Alexa listening? You tell me. Do you know for sure she’s not? Have you ever wondered how a simple search for barbecue sauce follows you around the web? Have you worried about how easy – or hard – it is to be digitally impersonated? (It’s not hard.) Have you been to London? Do you realize how often you’re photographed and filmed? (Smile.) Is your face linked to your travels, your preferences, your loves? (It is.)
The greatest Trojan Horse of the 21st century is the convenience our digital toys give us: how easy it is to order anything we want from Amazon, how much fun it is to download music and books and how we can find a car, a house and a date online. But what’s the trade-off? Every time we avail ourselves of these conveniences, we reveal a little more about who we are and what we do – which is all stored (and analyzed) permanently for those who want to buy some insight into what we like, what we’ll buy and how we should be pitched. It all seems innocent enough until we play drone and watch what’s really happening.
In fact, we’re all under surveillance. If you’re on the grid, you’re under surveillance. If you Tweet, blog or post, you’re under surveillance. If you shop with credit cards, you’re under surveillance. If you rideshare, you’re under surveillance. Really? Yes, really. So, what are these surveillance methods, tools and techniques and how can they be used to control us?
First, there are the basics, like CCTV (London, other cities), smart TVs (everywhere), Internet searches (with Google that owns over 90% of the Internet search market), social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), smart phones (who doesn’t have one?), voice recognition/response systems (Alexa, Google Home, Siri), credit/debit cards (everyone), loyalty programs (Target, Home Depot, Amazon Prime), facial recognition, image understanding and even drones. But these are just the basics, what everyone allows. What’s next? What’s worse?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will take surveillance to the next level, a level no one anticipated, not even any of the Big Brothers. AI/ML is capable of integrating data across many sources and describing, explaining and predicting human behavior. It enables all forms of surveillance. It can retrieve pictures, words, text, images, video and past behavior and synthesize them in real time with frightening accuracy. Within a few years, it will be possible for companies to profile nearly all of us from how we live our rich, full digital lives. But it will also empower government offices and agencies to do the same thing. Some of this will be good, such as enabling the pursuit, capture and prosecution of criminals. But some of it will be scary, such as what might happen when social, economic and political enemies seek control, revenge or worse. How much thought have you given to this possibility? Any?
Few believe there are nefarious plans underway to surveil or control us. But make no mistake: the surveillance infrastructure that could change all that is already in place and will only get wider, deeper and stronger. Technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, 5G, blockchain, cryptocurrency, the Internet of Things (IOT) and wearables will make surveillance easier and faster – and complete. There’s no need to implant chips into our bodies – though some are doing so – because we’re immersed in digital trackers in our pockets, our cars, our homes, our phones, our TVs, our appliances, our thermostats, our security systems and, of course, our laptops and tablets. We also know that leaving the digital grid is impossible, so good and evil surveillance is inevitable. Just one of the side effects of the “medication” that makes us as happy as it makes us vulnerable.
