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> He was holding a small device in his hand, the size and shape of a lollipop. "This is a video camera, and this is the precise model that's getting this incre
by wallflower 9y ago
> He was holding a small device in his hand, the size and shape of a lollipop.
"This is a video camera, and this is the precise model that's getting this incredible image quality. Image quality that holds up to this kind of magnification. So that's the first great thing. We can now get high-def-quality resolution in a camera the size of a thumb."
...
"But for now, let's go back to the places in the world where we most need transparency and so rarely have it. Here's a medley of locations around the world where we've placed cameras. Now imagine the impact these cameras would have had in the past, and will have in the future, if similar events transpire. Here's fifty cameras in Tiananmen Square."
...
"There needs to be accountability. Tyrants can no longer hide. There needs to be, and will be, documentation and accountability, and we need to bear witness."
...
ALL THAT HAPPENS MUST BE KNOWN
-From "The Circle" by David Eggers
- spuz 9y agoYes it's a pretty scary future to imagine. I had just watched The Circle before posting this article and it occurred to me that story might be closer to reality than we realise.
- fsloth 9y agoWe will probably end up in a world where anyone can be surveyed constantly. Minority Report probably was not far off. Once enough patterns of behaviour start to tricle into government databases eventually they will get enough data to identify patterns identifying various pathological people before they hurt themselves or others. Then the question is: what to do with the data.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- mirimir 9y agoWhat good is video evidence, if it can be faked? Having numerous independent feeds helps, I suppose. But once you have enough perspectives to create a decent 3D model, you can generate as many fake perspectives as you like. Also, there are obvious downsides to panopticons. But none of that matters, I guess. We will have the cameras and the fakes.
- leke 9y agoIf everyone has their camera rolling, it's impartial witness testimony, including the feed of the defendant.
- coldtea 9y ago>What good is video evidence, if it can be faked? Even better: what good is video evidence if few care? Consider officers shooting black people. There are several videos of that, but does it show any sign of stopping? They even walk off without any repercussions at trial... And, conversely, when people do care, no extra evidence is needed.
- mirimir 9y agoRight, sadly enough. Plus the fact that people will believe what they like, and likely won't trust all that complicated technical stuff.
- swayvil 9y agoWell I guess what people really care about is the story. The narrative that you derive from the pictures (and assumedly, audio recordings). And a TLDR of that. That would be an automation problem. A dozen high-quality TLDRs and you've got the local, state, national and global scoop, as well as the latest dirt on politicians and movie stars. I think that people would gobble that eagerly. So a million little cameras = automated news.
- Shivetya 9y agoActually people do care, especially since there is video. what they still don't care about that would probably need video as well is the staggering amount of black on black shooting. however as a society are we willing to give up that much privacy the moment we step out the door, where anything and everything could be a recording device. then again if we are drowning in being observed do we in turn find more freedom?
- mirimir 9y agoWith as many cameras as we already have, there isn't much privacy anywhere, unless we live alone. I just reread The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter. Basically, they argue that group consciousness is the best option where there is no privacy.
- Dylan16807 9y agoBasically irrelevant to a technology for making cameras thinner by a factor of millimeters.
- markdown 9y ago"Tyrants can no longer hide." Seems he missed the other side of the coin. We won't be able to hide from tyrants.
- wallflower 9y agoIn this particular book, that angle is more of a minor plot thread. Those politicians who don't buy into using the necklace 'body cam' version of this tiny camera to become transparent (to become 'clear') to their 'constituents' begin to become ostracized or, worse, blackmailed and then jailed (e.g. ostracized). The plot does revolve around people judging the central character's every action in real-time through these tiny cameras. '1984' is more along the lines of not being able to hide with the 'TV' that watches you while you watch it.
- mantas 9y agoOr you missed who is the tyrant. Anyone who tries to hide is a tyrant.