There’s so much to read these days. Here’s something.
One of the things our grandchildren will find quaintest about us is that we distinguish the digital from the real, the virtual from the real. [...] In a world of superubiquitous computing, you’re not gonna know when you’re on or when you’re off.
Tonight I was over Rocky’s house and got a message that I could download the new Qik video streaming service to my cell phone. Cool, “let’s try it,” I said to myself. It only took a minute to download and install.
Then again, you could always read this.
The idea that a photograph could be taken of me without my knowledge and then sent to my home address freaked me out a little bit. I started to think, “What other cameras are out there, taking shots of me that I’m not aware of?” For me, that’s when the whole thing started.
Are you seeing the pattern? There’s a lot of this around: debates about privacy, serious concerns sometimes, cut short immediately by new technologies and people craving them with a vengeance.
I think I may be in the camp of those embracing the ubiquitous part of computing. Sure, phone me when I’m not in the mood, when I’m calling it a day, when I’m ill, and I may not pick up.
And there’s no web cam in my shower. Trust me, you wouldn’t want it.
But apart from that, I’m wondering: are we creating two breeds, living at two speeds? Those who say “cool, let’s try it” and those who go “ooh dear” and are still afraid somehow to post a picture on the web?
Face it, we’re long past the point where we have to feign surprise over the fact that today we’re in dozens of databases and we were “surveyed” by a multitude of cameras. It’s time we not only realize that, but use it. Use it to communicate, to make our lives easier, to open up knowledge and understanding.
Naive, utopian, or a misplaced trust in the “cool factor” of what may in fact be a worrisome trend?
All I know is that the people who gazed at steam trains whizz by and cursed them, are still there in a way – standing in a field frozen in time, wearing their wooden shoes and going home alone in the darkness…
Tags: privacy, surveillance, ubiquitous computing
18 December 2007 at 1:28 am
While I’m in the camp of using technology to make our lives easier, the concept behind that movie Look is more than a little unnerving…
18 December 2007 at 1:39 am
You’re on the ball by sensing how ubiquity = distinguishability. I do foresee some counteraction, in the form of jamming devices often seen in military and sci-fi movies, except now, they’d be used in everyday civilian settings.
18 December 2007 at 4:05 am
Couple of (random-ish) things:
1) I really never answer my phone unless it’s one of a handful of people. In fact, I dislike the using the telephone, truth be told. I’m not entirely sure why that is.
2) I’m wary of predictions about the future. It may sound trite, but the more things change, the more they stay the same.
I’m not sure if either of these points are even remotely relevant to your post, Nils. I’m tired.
18 December 2007 at 9:12 am
Well said Nils.
I will agree with Mr.Lestarjette though. The more things change the more the stay the same (history seems to bear this out too). The power elite will have and control everything whilst the rest of us get the trickle down.
What “they” want us to have is all we’ll get.
(Ditto Daniel on the phone thing… face to face is the way to go. Less “practical”, more time consuming and way better).
18 December 2007 at 11:04 pm
@Joe: it is, although I’m not sure what to think of it. It’s not really made out of “found” footage is it? And if it isn’t, what’s the point?
@Kevin: hey, thanks for dropping in. What would that be? Not real wave jammers I suppose, but perhaps tools that disguise phone call origins, cash withdrawals etc? True, those may pop up sooner than later. Of course we’ll try out those voraciously too :-)
@Daniel: not out of place at all. A phone is still a tool and a very direct one at that. Soon we’ll start using it differently I think, more like we do a website or a twitter page. But you’re right in saying that the fundamentals still apply. Those predictions are priceless in any case.
@Tom: well-observed, the majority of people will never reach full scale usage of every available resource, and even we – who are at the edge – have little access to the really cool toys. I still wonder who “they” are though. Sometimes I just think they is actually us and we don’t even know it. If that makes sense ;-)
19 December 2007 at 1:04 pm
I look at so many issues that have labels attached to them as ‘have’ and ‘have nots’. In the case you’re talking about, I’m clearly part of the ‘have nots’. It might turn into generational or age divide as people of certain age will embrace technology and dream creative ways to enhance our life easier than others. Count me as happy and part of ‘others’.