Monday, January 07, 2013
Your technology future is not a private place
It is CES time again. The Consumer Electronics Show 2013 is open in Las Vegas.
It gives a snapshot of the state of the industry and plans for the near future.
If anything, the personal electronic device has evolved from the PDA to the smartphone. It has been joined by the tablet as personal communications devices. These devices are already merging as phones get larger and tablets get smaller.
These devices are the locus of massive changes going on in our society. We talk of social media and sites like Facebook and marvel at how we are able to reach out and community with each other. But it also allows others to reach in and communicate with us.
I grew up in the days before George Orwells' 1984. My generation read it and watched the year come and go. No big deal. Sure we thought of Big Brother and government intrusion. After all, we had just gone through the Vietnam War and the draft. The two-way television monitors of Orwell's book pale in comparison to what the smartphone in your pocket can do for government or, for that matter, business--more on this later.
We willingly give up freedoms for convenience. Privacy is quickly fading as something we can assume. It is possible now to track your every move through your smartphone. You have probably willingly allowed these when you downloaded and installed various apps for your phone. These apps provide a convenience for you but they also provide a door to your habits.
Privacy will also be eroded as you willingly allow insurance companies to monitor your driving habits so you can get a break on your car insurance. Such arrangements are already being offered if you allow a little black box to be mounted on your car.
Yes, this is if you opt in, but what of those who choose to opt out? The that opt out will get the higher rate and be suspect of wanting to hide their poor driving habits. If you speed, habitually accelerate rapidly, jam on the brakes, that makes you a poor risk for insurance companies. They suspect you of that, you wont get any discount.
Twenty years ago this was unthinkable. Twenty years ago was 1992 almost a decade after Orwell's benchmark of 1984. Now, it is thinkable. It is a reality.
We know we need to control the excesses of one Big Brother -- government, but we also must consider the other Big Brother -- Big Business. More next time.
It gives a snapshot of the state of the industry and plans for the near future.
If anything, the personal electronic device has evolved from the PDA to the smartphone. It has been joined by the tablet as personal communications devices. These devices are already merging as phones get larger and tablets get smaller.
These devices are the locus of massive changes going on in our society. We talk of social media and sites like Facebook and marvel at how we are able to reach out and community with each other. But it also allows others to reach in and communicate with us.
I grew up in the days before George Orwells' 1984. My generation read it and watched the year come and go. No big deal. Sure we thought of Big Brother and government intrusion. After all, we had just gone through the Vietnam War and the draft. The two-way television monitors of Orwell's book pale in comparison to what the smartphone in your pocket can do for government or, for that matter, business--more on this later.
We willingly give up freedoms for convenience. Privacy is quickly fading as something we can assume. It is possible now to track your every move through your smartphone. You have probably willingly allowed these when you downloaded and installed various apps for your phone. These apps provide a convenience for you but they also provide a door to your habits.
Privacy will also be eroded as you willingly allow insurance companies to monitor your driving habits so you can get a break on your car insurance. Such arrangements are already being offered if you allow a little black box to be mounted on your car.
Yes, this is if you opt in, but what of those who choose to opt out? The that opt out will get the higher rate and be suspect of wanting to hide their poor driving habits. If you speed, habitually accelerate rapidly, jam on the brakes, that makes you a poor risk for insurance companies. They suspect you of that, you wont get any discount.
Twenty years ago this was unthinkable. Twenty years ago was 1992 almost a decade after Orwell's benchmark of 1984. Now, it is thinkable. It is a reality.
We know we need to control the excesses of one Big Brother -- government, but we also must consider the other Big Brother -- Big Business. More next time.
# posted by Richard Polk @ 9:19 AM 
