4 ms·

Well, that's disturbing. I bet we'll see much more of this in the coming days.

colmvp 9y ago
For sure. And when you consider that research is improving on the topic of guessing someones race, age, gender, emotion via facial video/stills, as well as identifying other quasi-unique features such as gestures, gait, and facial expressions, well... it seems like it'd be hard to evade advanced ad or government tracking.
- FridgeSeal 9y ago
  It really annoys me that these are deployed in public spaces where you essentially can't opt-out or fight the tracking like you can online (ad blockers, script execution control etc).
  - state_less 9y ago
    Might be time to pull out the regulations (a.k.a protections). You could destroy the market for this sort of thing if executives went to jail or were fined out of business.
    - mdpopescu 9y ago
      As much as I can't stand the guy, I think David Brin is right here. The government does this to you anyway; the solution might not be regulation (which they won't care about anyway - see the NSA) but reciprocation. Let's watch everyone (in public), and make that data accessible to everyone.
  - bigbugbag 9y ago
    IIRC this was something Cory Doctorow addressed in a talk or book, right now we can do something in the digital online realm, but as soon as this hits public space we're fucked and it had already started at the time.
convolvatron 9y ago
can you imagine a world where automatic identification/classification, tracking, and targeting would decrease? seems like you would either need a collapse of the economy to such a degree that cameras and computers aren't affordable...or some kind of extremely aggressive regulation. i can't see how the latter would ever come about or be effective.
- bigbugbag 9y ago
  > i can't see how the latter would ever come about or be effective. Try picturing a future where having access to clean drinking water is a privilege that only some have, with no cheap energy available and unstable climate. This is the future we built for ourselves and admittedly internet and computer are useless when you don't have electricity.
ludjer 9y ago
How is this disturbing? its just like some a public webcam that gets used to identify people. If it is in the public you have no privacy. If you want privacy go home as soon as you are out of your house you lose your privacy. I am a big voter for privacy in your home and private but out in the public your are not private anymore and therefore privacy falls away. Privacy and private kinda go hand in hand. you cant have privacy in a public space it is impossible.
- dagw 9y ago
  If it is in the public you have no privacy. Norwegian law disagrees with you.
- Nursie 9y ago
  Utter crap. Just because I am not in my house does not mean I consent to being tracked everywhere I go. We make the rules in our society, and with enough political will we can restrict this stuff.
  - Scea91 9y ago
    This is not used for tracking.
    - orthecreedence 9y ago
      ...Yet?
- bigbugbag 9y ago
  Assuming there is no privacy in public space, please tell us all the name, age, address, SSNs, CC numbers, health records, gender, buying history, sexual orientation, facial features of everyone you walked by in public space over the course of one day last week. Now that you have failed to do that, try doing it for one day 5 years ago, a whole week, a whole month, everyday since you were born. A public surveillance apparatus such as the one featured here who record everyone, every day, not forgetting a single thing or person. Try thinking a bit and free yourself from the backfire effect before making claims that make you look bad.

For sure. And when you consider that research is improving on the topic of guessing someones race, age, gender, emotion via facial video/stills, as well as identifying other quasi-unique features such as gestures, gait, and facial expressions, well... it seems like it'd be hard to evade advanced ad or government tracking.

FridgeSeal 9y ago
It really annoys me that these are deployed in public spaces where you essentially can't opt-out or fight the tracking like you can online (ad blockers, script execution control etc).
- state_less 9y ago
  Might be time to pull out the regulations (a.k.a protections). You could destroy the market for this sort of thing if executives went to jail or were fined out of business.
  - mdpopescu 9y ago
    As much as I can't stand the guy, I think David Brin is right here. The government does this to you anyway; the solution might not be regulation (which they won't care about anyway - see the NSA) but reciprocation. Let's watch everyone (in public), and make that data accessible to everyone.
- bigbugbag 9y ago
  IIRC this was something Cory Doctorow addressed in a talk or book, right now we can do something in the digital online realm, but as soon as this hits public space we're fucked and it had already started at the time.

convolvatron 9y ago

can you imagine a world where automatic identification/classification, tracking, and targeting would decrease? seems like you would either need a collapse of the economy to such a degree that cameras and computers aren't affordable...or some kind of extremely aggressive regulation. i can't see how the latter would ever come about or be effective.

bigbugbag 9y ago
> i can't see how the latter would ever come about or be effective. Try picturing a future where having access to clean drinking water is a privilege that only some have, with no cheap energy available and unstable climate. This is the future we built for ourselves and admittedly internet and computer are useless when you don't have electricity.

ludjer 9y ago

How is this disturbing? its just like some a public webcam that gets used to identify people. If it is in the public you have no privacy. If you want privacy go home as soon as you are out of your house you lose your privacy. I am a big voter for privacy in your home and private but out in the public your are not private anymore and therefore privacy falls away. Privacy and private kinda go hand in hand. you cant have privacy in a public space it is impossible.

dagw 9y ago
If it is in the public you have no privacy. Norwegian law disagrees with you.
Nursie 9y ago
Utter crap. Just because I am not in my house does not mean I consent to being tracked everywhere I go. We make the rules in our society, and with enough political will we can restrict this stuff.
- Scea91 9y ago
  This is not used for tracking.
  - orthecreedence 9y ago
    ...Yet?
bigbugbag 9y ago
Assuming there is no privacy in public space, please tell us all the name, age, address, SSNs, CC numbers, health records, gender, buying history, sexual orientation, facial features of everyone you walked by in public space over the course of one day last week. Now that you have failed to do that, try doing it for one day 5 years ago, a whole week, a whole month, everyday since you were born. A public surveillance apparatus such as the one featured here who record everyone, every day, not forgetting a single thing or person. Try thinking a bit and free yourself from the backfire effect before making claims that make you look bad.