1984 vs 2019
In class today (Monday, April 1st), we discussed the similarities between the world of 1984, and our world in 2019. Several people mentioned that the futuristic tech (Relative to the 1930s) in the book is very similar to our modern day tech. Especially the television screen, which not only broadcasts information but also records information, similar to our computers webcams, and the amazon Alexa.
In the book, this tech is used to supervise people, and discourage them from acting against the state. People know that they are being surveilled 24/7, and this forces obedience in every aspect in life, as they have no privacy to do what they want. While this is not the case in 2019, some people are still being unwillingly recorded.
I myself did not know of anything relating to this topic prior to the discussion we had in class on Monday, and I was quite surprised to see how many people covered or knew other people who covered their webcams. It for some reason had never occurred to me that people could view me through the camera. This was slightly worrisome for me at first, but I shrugged it off. If they viewed me all they would see is a blank face that occasionally curses when something goes bad in a video game. However this also made me think about what other things are also recording me that I am unaware of. Of course in class we mentioned Amazon Alexa, but I do not own one or anything similar, so it doesn't really apply to me. While I understand some of the intentions of this surveillance (Government could use video evidence in judicial incidents, and companies can acquire customer data), I still disagree with it if it stays hidden. Everyone should have the right to know if they are being watched/recorded or not, and hiding it in the 15 page terms and conditions do not count.
Anyhow, I think that a good amount of public surveillance is good as long as people are still able to retain a degree of privacy of their own choosing, and people can't choose without knowing. Since I myself didn't know much about this, I am certain that there are other people out there who don't either. I highly doubt that this commercial use of recording devices will ever get to the point it does in 1984, where they are used to threaten people to behave properly. I can, however, see a world where we are constantly surveilled. Most public spaces already have video cameras, and with the introduction of webcams and amazon echo like tech, the private home is beginning to be recorded as well.
- Kevin Li
I was exposed to this issue a year ago when I saw someone close to me tape their camera on their laptop. I had always assumed people who did that were just paranoid but learning more about the reality of devices recording private conversations shocked me. Although the use of technology as surveillance in 1984 might seem far fetched to us, I think it's necessary for us to know when we are being recorded and for us to be able to protect our right to privacy.
ReplyDeleteYeah it really is crazy to think about. So many parts of our lives have the possibility of being monitered without our knowledge through objects we use multiple times a day on a daily basis. Like we discussed in class, there have already been cases of things such as Amazon Alexa going beyond what we believed they were capable of, and Amazon has even faced repurcussions becuase of it. However, I don't think big corporations share this data with the government. Chances are they use the data they collect build profiles attributed to ourselves that already have an idea of what we like and want in order to make sure they maximize their profits. Working with the government would ruin the trust between the consumer and company. In fact, Apple has even refused to help the government crack into their phones, no matter who they have come from.
ReplyDeleteI also found about this pretty recently, after my family got Alexa. I will say that it is pretty disturbing, but at the same time, I'm not sure how much it really affects me personally, just because I don't think there's anything very significant that the government would get from watching me through my computer camera or listening to me through Alexa. However, I do think it's a different story if it's a random person with harmful intentions that somehow hacked into the system and is listening and watching me. That would definitely become a concern for me, but I'm not sure how I would every find out if this were happening.
ReplyDeleteI've had some pretty weird experiences of talking about something and then having an advertisement or an article pop up about it. I definitely think some of our modern day tech is recording us in some way, but how much are they recording and how do they sort through all of it is beyond me. But if we were to advance tech/make it public that these companies were listening in on us, then I think it could be used as a form of keeping people in check with the government. If we're suppressing free speech in Arab countries and other countries without tech, it could definitely happen in America.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post of surveillance and it's existence in 1984 made me think of this article that someone showed me. Basically, in China there are cameras hidden everywhere recording pretty much all people at all times. That's not even the problematic part. China's face identifying technologies have become so advanced that as people walk by, the cameras will analyze their faces. Not only that, they will judge "criminality" based on those face analyses. The idea is that at some point the government will be able to tell who will commit a crime simply by looking at their faces. This is quite scary and to think that something like this is actively happening in our current world is frightening.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it would be really easy for a place like America to suppress free speech and watch/listen to everyone to keep people in check. My family has an Alexa and it can be pretty weird or annoying because sometimes it turns on without anyone saying anything to it or it won't turn on when we try to ask it something. I don't necessarily know if anyone is using it to listen to us, but usually I don't think I'm saying anything bad, but then again anything can be misconstrued.
ReplyDeleteI also found that in-class conversation to be super interesting! Like you, in the back of my mind I have kinda figured and accepted the possiblity that technology could be surveilancing us, but until the other day, I never really thought deeply about the issue and its concequences. I think that 1984 does a great job of showcasing technology's surveliance power, making people in 2019 really question what could be (and probably is) going on... quite frankly, its scary and I hope that change is on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteSurveillance is good to a certain extent, but with the advent of 24/7 surveillance, it is now being regarded as a detriment instead of the technological milestone it once was. I think this process began as soon as corporations began pushing these technologies for consumer use. Phones, private security, and more recently personal assistants (as helpful as they are) have slowly gained prominence in the private domain, and it was only a matter of time before consumer data became a valuable commodity. Unlike 1984, private surveillance is not being primarily used to control the population, so there is still a possibility we can avert a crisis like this from occurring in ours.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think about how surveillance is all around us. I think I heard that Uni is the only U of I building that doesn't have surveillance cameras inside. It's that privacy vs security question, again. I don't think our world can get as bad as 1984's with respect to surveillance unless corporations and government get together. Amazon might surveil us, but at least they're not, like, conspiring with Congress. (At least I don't think so.) (Congress is too old for that.)
ReplyDeleteI think it's kind of scary how thoroughly we are put under surveillance as we go about living our lives, and even more so how people with bad intentions can collect information about us without our knowing. For example, the little light you see when your webcam is on can be turned off with software, so theoretically someone could record you without you being able to visually tell. Also, people have taken control of Bluetooth child monitors to listen in or make noises to scare the children. I guess in this increasingly connected world that we live in, you have to balance convenience and privacy.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there has to be a balance of the benefits of technology with the dangers. If the government listens to conversations they can prevent some amount of violence or terrorism at the cost of privacy. This could make it unsafe for people to voice some opinions, or feel uncomfortable with their lack of privacy. Some middleground needs to be struck, and i think that requires transparency. Like you said no 15 page document hiding it
ReplyDeleteYeah the 21st century can be really disturbing. I feel like sometimes my door squeaks ill think "Hm i need to buy some WD-40", and then see an add for it on google. Its certainly creepy. Even without direct surveillance from Alexas or computer webcams people can still figure out things about our lives that we maybe wouldn't want them too. There is so much data out there about what we are doing. There is the one story i cant remember where i heard it about how target figured out a women was pregnant and was giving her coupons for diapers and stuff before she knew she was pregnant, just by seeing the change in her shopping habits. Kinda creepy.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think the use of these devices by private companies is starting to get scary, and I think the public needs to be more exposed to what is actually happening.
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