4 ms·
Not to harp on a horrible metaphor, however I would say Google is more like a metro or subway than a getaway car driver (or car manufacturer). Yes, you took it
by gkoberger 15y ago
Not to harp on a horrible metaphor, however I would say Google is more like a metro or subway than a getaway car driver (or car manufacturer).
Yes, you took it to the bank robbery -- however it also took lots of people to other places, and didn't know nor care where you were going or why. Nobody would accuse a bus or train of being an accessory.
- arctangent 15y agoI've not studied the issue extensively, but I believe a similar argument was the basis for the "safe harbour" provisions of the DMCA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Copyright_Infringement_Liability_Limitation_Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Copyright_Infringement_L...
- RandallBrown 15y agothey probably used Google to find the website of the bank they're going to rob so they could get a location and hours. So really the Google and the bank both assisted in robbing that bank.
- jarcoal 15y agoDefinitely more accurate, but I wish these sort of metaphors wouldn't be used at all. Oversimplifies the issue.
- gojomo 15y agoJust wait until one of Google's self-driving cars is used for a heist.
- Zirro 15y agoYou just made me realize how self-driving cars can be (ab)used by police or higher organisations to track citizens, and stop a crime. Knowing what they are currently trying to do with the Internet, them wanting to have some control over the self-driving cars wouldn't surprise me. To some people it may seem clear how much of a benefit this would be. "Wow, the police are actually able to lock down a getaway car and arrest people who have just committed a bank robbery?". But, there's a reason I wrote "(ab)used" up there, you probably understand the implications already.
- gojomo 15y agoI believe OnStar vehicles already have a remote kill-switch the owner or law-enforcement can throw. (Plus, of course, GPS tracking.)
- Natsu 15y agoWhile we're at it, OnStar can also be used to record the conversations of people inside the vehicle.
- bravura 15y agoGoing back to the subway metaphor: if you by your NYC metrocard with a credit card, the police can (and do) track you. There have been incidents with people being charged with---and exonerated from---crimes on the basis of their travel logs. I can't find the citation currently, sorry.