Tag Archives: crime

FLOCK CAMERAS AS CONTROVERSIAL AS DATA CENTERS

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#FlockCameras #surveillance #SurveillanceAbuse #AI #AIManipulation #privacy
Someone is always watching you.
Or so it seems with the proliferation of Flock cameras.
These devices are license plate readers that police in various jurisdictions, also perhaps private security operations, are placing throughout an area to read license plates.
For police, they seem to be a great law enforcement tool. If a crime is committed in a certain area with a surveillance camera, it’s easier to find and capture the criminal.
But, recent news reports are showing that police officers themselves, perhaps spying on an ex-spouse or significant other, are abusing the advantage the cameras give them to fight crime.
And, to take it a step further, these cameras can be used to spy on any of us, for any reason.
We, as Americans, value our privacy. We should be free to undertake normal life activities sight unseen by law enforcement – unless we are actually breaking the law.
In the 1960s, a TV show called “Candid Camera” secretly filmed people doing funny (read: stupid) activities that were set up for them without their knowledge.
They not only didn’t know what they were about to get into, they had no idea they would be filmed doing it.
It was all in good fun, and provided some amusing entertainment. Most of those filmed were not in places they were not supposed to be, and most actually got a kick out of it.
It makes one wonder, though, whether there were any objections to being filmed, and whether those people forbade the show from airing them.
But, as discussed last week, AI, data centers and now surveillance cameras are giving government and other big entities a leg up on getting information about people in general.
There’s no doubt in most people’s minds that this gathering of information is going to be used for purposes not in keeping with the free American life.
Big Brother, from the novel “1984”, is watching. But, they may not be watching to look out for everyone’s safety.
There are certain activities that most people would call “wrong,” but are not illegal. If such activities get filmed, entities can use that information against the person being filmed.
Should police departments decide to become corrupt, they cannot be trusted with such information.
Someone with access could have a swindle side hustle selling that information.
Of course, there are those who argue that if one isn’t doing anything wrong, what’s the problem with filming them? They might be doing something embarrassing, but not necessarily wrong.
Combining AI manipulation with unnecessary surveillance, a situation can look a lot worse than it is. The person involved would have no way to disprove or refute it, even though he or she did nothing wrong.
America and the world is coming into a new age. We may go kicking and screaming, protesting the “advantages” of technology. But, once the capabilities are created and meshed, it is tough to stop it.
We would all be better off presuming that whatever we are doing, even inside our own homes, could be filmed.
Because we are human, perfect behavior will not be the outcome. It’s been said that a person can be judged by what he or she does when no one’s watching. Now, we have to believe everyone’s watching.
There are degrees of “wrong.” Inflating those degrees through technological surveillance and manipulation is the real sin.
Peter

DIGITAL AGE BRINGS 2 TRENDS

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#trends #DigitalAge #crime #technology
Youth culture has become less violent, less promiscuous and more responsible.
So writes New York Times columnist Ross Douthat.
He wrote that American childhood is safer than ever before, as teens drink less and smoke less than previous generations.
Violent crime, a young person’s temptation, had fallen for 25 years before the recent post-Ferguson homicide increase, he writes, in a column published Aug. 23, 2016, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
At the same time, he writes, adulthood has become less responsible, “les obviously adult.” For the first time in more than a century, more 20-somethings live with parents than in any other arrangement.
Certainly, the recession of 2008 contributed to that. But Douthat also points out that the helicopter parent phenomenon, in which parents hover over their children by doing things the children should be doing for themselves, has contributed to the slower maturation process.
Douthat attributes these two trends to technology. “This mix of youthful safety and adult immaturity may be a feature of life in a society increasingly shaped by the Internet’s virtual realities,” he writes.
Let’s explore Douthat’s hypothesis.
When kids spend hours playing video games and otherwise sitting at computers, they are not out getting into trouble. At the same time, they are not out seeing what real life is all about.
A number of experts have written and spoken about the different groups in the workforce, with older workers, millennials and Gen-Xers all needing different things, and all motivated by different things.
But if you are among the older crowd, imagine hiring a 20-something who not only had never had a job, but also hardly had been out of the house in their formative years.
Imagine, too, the experts telling you that YOU have to change the way you do things to accommodate these kids.
Train them the way you were trained, they say, and they won’t last.
Not only are there psychological and mental differences in these kids, many are physically incapable of qualifying for many jobs. The police, fire and military usually have openings, but even if you bring back the draft, many of the recruits are not physically capable of enduring the rigor of military training. You’d probably kill them, literally, before you whipped them into shape.
Think, too, of the social aspects these kids bring. It’s tough to go out on dates when you are sitting at a computer for much of your life.
Of course, not all kids are like that. Some are ambitious, and are looking at bright futures. While others are taught to settle, they dream of what could be if they work for it.
If you are one of those kids, there are many options out there to fulfill those dreams. To check out one of the best, message me. You might come across a story of an 18-year-old high school senior who made more money than any of his teachers.
Technology is both good and bad for us. It is up to us, at every age, to take full advantage of the good while overcoming the bad. Young people must learn skills that will give them a leg up in the work force, while, at the same time, getting up, getting active and interacting live with friends, family and others.
Peter