5 ms·

Not sure if the parent expressed anything approaching either anger or hate. > ... that protection will require facial recognition software. Why? Lots of thin

Not sure if the parent expressed anything approaching either anger or hate. > ... that protection will require facial recognition software. Why? Lots of things are effective, but life in a free country means that we don’t do some of them. We could put cameras in every home, make them illegal to disable. Ban encryption. Censor the web. Ban cars that can’t be remotely disabled. Free societies are free because there is slack in the system. This freedom is how norms evolve. Gay sex could put you in jail when my parents were teenagers. Supporting Nelson Mandela when he was in jail was supporting the leader of a terrorist organization. Heaven forbid smoking a joint. The status quo is not divined. My point is, that regardless of your issue, authoritarianism is not a good answer. Even if you think it might swing things in your favor today, there are no guarantees that it will tomorrow.

bb88 8y ago
If you were an honest debater, you would have discussed the pros and cons of facial recognition software instead of labeling my position as somehow inherently evil without argument.
- confounded 8y ago
  No need to assume I’m out to get you. Are there benefits of facial recognition cameras for law enforcement which can’t be said of other mass surveillance techniques? Are there specific pros you want to be acknowledged?
  - bb88 8y ago
    I didn't realize you have the PhD to diagnose me as paranoid as well. Again, if you want an honest debate, I'm willing to have one. But I think in your quest to make a popular rhetorical argument, you've lost the moral high ground.
    - whatyoucantsay 8y ago
      I think confounded makes some good points.
naasking 8y ago
> My point is, that regardless of your issue, authoritarianism is not a good answer. Your assumption that this software would be used for authoritarian ends is exactly the problem the OP was trying to point out.
- jstanley 8y ago
  The argument is that use of this software is inherently authoritarian, in and of itself.
  - bb88 8y ago
    No object ever in society is "inherently authoritarian". Authoritarianism is a behavior of a country's leaders, not a label on some unwanted technology. E.g. Sniper rifles are not authoritarian in an of themselves. The use of sniper rifles to snuff out dissent is. And that's why this debate is dishonest. Because if you support facial recognition software for the police as another tool for the good guys, you get smeared as supporting authoritarianism. When in fact, if you deeply wanted to remove authoritarian behaviors, you would add more checks and balances to the system to prevent unchecked behavior from our leaders. The founding father's knew that and designed the constitution that way.
    - jstanley 8y ago
      I agree that the existence of the software is benign. I said the use of it is authoritarian. And sure, I didn't make it explicit, so let me make it explicit now: the use of the software to identify real people is authoritarian. If you use it to classify random cat pictures then that's obviously not authoritarian.
      - bb88 8y ago
        First, thanks for responding. But saying two things are equivalent doesn't make it so. My phone tags people in them. Are you saying that is authoritarian? Because to me, it seems like a really nice tool to tag people in photos.

bb88 8y ago

If you were an honest debater, you would have discussed the pros and cons of facial recognition software instead of labeling my position as somehow inherently evil without argument.

confounded 8y ago
No need to assume I’m out to get you. Are there benefits of facial recognition cameras for law enforcement which can’t be said of other mass surveillance techniques? Are there specific pros you want to be acknowledged?
- bb88 8y ago
  I didn't realize you have the PhD to diagnose me as paranoid as well. Again, if you want an honest debate, I'm willing to have one. But I think in your quest to make a popular rhetorical argument, you've lost the moral high ground.
  - whatyoucantsay 8y ago
    I think confounded makes some good points.

naasking 8y ago

> My point is, that regardless of your issue, authoritarianism is not a good answer. Your assumption that this software would be used for authoritarian ends is exactly the problem the OP was trying to point out.

jstanley 8y ago
The argument is that use of this software is inherently authoritarian, in and of itself.
- bb88 8y ago
  No object ever in society is "inherently authoritarian". Authoritarianism is a behavior of a country's leaders, not a label on some unwanted technology. E.g. Sniper rifles are not authoritarian in an of themselves. The use of sniper rifles to snuff out dissent is. And that's why this debate is dishonest. Because if you support facial recognition software for the police as another tool for the good guys, you get smeared as supporting authoritarianism. When in fact, if you deeply wanted to remove authoritarian behaviors, you would add more checks and balances to the system to prevent unchecked behavior from our leaders. The founding father's knew that and designed the constitution that way.
  - jstanley 8y ago
    I agree that the existence of the software is benign. I said the use of it is authoritarian. And sure, I didn't make it explicit, so let me make it explicit now: the use of the software to identify real people is authoritarian. If you use it to classify random cat pictures then that's obviously not authoritarian.
    - bb88 8y ago
      First, thanks for responding. But saying two things are equivalent doesn't make it so. My phone tags people in them. Are you saying that is authoritarian? Because to me, it seems like a really nice tool to tag people in photos.