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A few short years ago it was incomprehensible, even in the west, to have what is essentially a permanently bugged house. Now it has been normalised to such an e

A few short years ago it was incomprehensible, even in the west, to have what is essentially a permanently bugged house. Now it has been normalised to such an extent that even people who claim to be aware of privacy use Alexa et al at home in a striking display of dissonance. The general public at large has been sold such attractive shiny toys that they don't realise that the price they pay for using them is to unconsciously disabuse themselves of any notion of assuming privacy, even in your private space and activities. This training has been so effective that they will actually defend these practices and claim that you're a 'tin foil hat wearer' and paranoid to be speaking up for reclaiming what was normal and natural as short as two generations back.

irq-1 7y ago
People used to ask me why I don't use Facebook. I haven't been asked that in about two years. I predict that three years from now the majority will share our views about voice and video recording.
- slouch 7y ago
  This is such an optimistic and hopeful comment. Thanks. I hope you're right.
- faceblob2 7y ago
  I disagree. There has been so much anti-facebook hype over the last few years, yet many of the people I know, smart people, have it on/open/in-the-background 24/7, and instagram, and a hundred other services shipping their personal data. These people don't read about online privacy or ruminate on the consequences of their actions, because everyone around them does the same. For younger people, it's worse. Their entire lives are uploaded. They have been programmed to accept this as reality, and it would probably seem like social suicide to disconnect. Outside of places like HN, conversations about privacy and censorship, in my experience, are only ever instigated by me. And now the world seems to be in a mad rush to bug their houses. Obviously there are plenty of people who are repulsed by this, but we're all swept up in the surveillance state anyway. If people start to get the idea that these surveillance devices are bad, they'll be reminded to trust their govt with a brand new terror event.
vineyardmike 7y ago
While I agree with the broader sentiment, I think that app/web tracking is worse than "bugged houses" because it is disingenuous to claim the devices (alexa et al) are actually always listening. You specifically interact with them, and the only data lost is a voice print, and when you like to turn your lights on. Sure security cameras are the exception since they always record, but those aren't new.

irq-1 7y ago

People used to ask me why I don't use Facebook. I haven't been asked that in about two years. I predict that three years from now the majority will share our views about voice and video recording.

slouch 7y ago
This is such an optimistic and hopeful comment. Thanks. I hope you're right.
faceblob2 7y ago
I disagree. There has been so much anti-facebook hype over the last few years, yet many of the people I know, smart people, have it on/open/in-the-background 24/7, and instagram, and a hundred other services shipping their personal data. These people don't read about online privacy or ruminate on the consequences of their actions, because everyone around them does the same. For younger people, it's worse. Their entire lives are uploaded. They have been programmed to accept this as reality, and it would probably seem like social suicide to disconnect. Outside of places like HN, conversations about privacy and censorship, in my experience, are only ever instigated by me. And now the world seems to be in a mad rush to bug their houses. Obviously there are plenty of people who are repulsed by this, but we're all swept up in the surveillance state anyway. If people start to get the idea that these surveillance devices are bad, they'll be reminded to trust their govt with a brand new terror event.

vineyardmike 7y ago

While I agree with the broader sentiment, I think that app/web tracking is worse than "bugged houses" because it is disingenuous to claim the devices (alexa et al) are actually always listening. You specifically interact with them, and the only data lost is a voice print, and when you like to turn your lights on. Sure security cameras are the exception since they always record, but those aren't new.