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> combined with the contents of other databases and weaponized against me. what does weaponizing mean here? Because i do believe it is a hypothetical threat th

by chii 2y ago

> combined with the contents of other databases and weaponized against me. what does weaponizing mean here? Because i do believe it is a hypothetical threat that most don't actually see as a real threat. The only scenario is that it acts as evidence for you being in a specific location/time, when it is inconvenient for you to admit to being there.

fsflover 2y ago
> what does weaponizing mean here? It means manipulating into buying staff you don't need, i.e., targeted ads.
- ta1243 2y ago
  It amazes me that people think of adverts as benign. They are one of the largest industries on the planet whose entire purpose is to brainwash you into buying something you wouldn't There's a reason they spend so much on things like facial recognition, they will take more money from you than they spend.
hilbert42 2y ago
"Because i do believe it is a hypothetical threat that most don't actually see as a real threat." In another of today's HN stories, 'For advertising: Firefox now collects user data by default', I made almost the same point. If a majority of the citizenry is indifferent and or sees no threat then the politics will not change, no new laws or regulations will be introduced. Moreover, with no concerted opposition or action the status quo will only be reinforced—thus, by default, those who've vested interests gain additional political power to further ensure there's no change. Indifference is the enemy of democracy.
walterbell 2y ago
> what does weaponizing mean here? Manipulating possible futures, including financial.
JohnFen 2y ago
What I mean by weaponizing is that it's used to do things like target me for advertising, adjust credit ratings, set insurance rates, and even get a job with certain companies.
- dingnuts 2y ago
  that stuff is all so mundane. imagine if you're a closeted homosexual caught in a photo kissing another member of the same sex, and you live in a locality where that puts your life in danger. imagine you live in a theocracy and someone catches you without your head scarf. THAT is weaponization. Your examples aren't wrong but the stakes of losing control of our data are so much higher than you're imagining.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - alickz 2y ago
    I saw a post on Reddit how someone in Kenya took a still image of 2 men kissing from an elevator camera video file and posted on social media for it to go viral Seems dangerous "I have nothing to hide" makes sense to me - except sometimes you don't know what you have to hide, or it can change after the fact
  - Dylan16807 2y ago
    It's all weaponization. Bring up worse uses when appropriate, but don't make this a competition to dismiss smaller misuse.
  - JohnFen 2y ago
    Absolutely, but I've learned from experience that the more extreme examples tend to get dismissed pretty quickly for various reasons. The examples I used are ones that affect pretty much everybody and, more importantly, are directly relevant to me. Since I was commenting about my own personal situation, I thought it prudent to limit my response to that subset. But you're right -- there are many layers to this onion, and some are far worse than others.

by chii 2y ago

fsflover 2y ago

> what does weaponizing mean here? It means manipulating into buying staff you don't need, i.e., targeted ads.

ta1243 2y ago
It amazes me that people think of adverts as benign. They are one of the largest industries on the planet whose entire purpose is to brainwash you into buying something you wouldn't There's a reason they spend so much on things like facial recognition, they will take more money from you than they spend.

hilbert42 2y ago

"Because i do believe it is a hypothetical threat that most don't actually see as a real threat." In another of today's HN stories, 'For advertising: Firefox now collects user data by default', I made almost the same point. If a majority of the citizenry is indifferent and or sees no threat then the politics will not change, no new laws or regulations will be introduced. Moreover, with no concerted opposition or action the status quo will only be reinforced—thus, by default, those who've vested interests gain additional political power to further ensure there's no change. Indifference is the enemy of democracy.

walterbell 2y ago

> what does weaponizing mean here? Manipulating possible futures, including financial.

JohnFen 2y ago

What I mean by weaponizing is that it's used to do things like target me for advertising, adjust credit ratings, set insurance rates, and even get a job with certain companies.

dingnuts 2y ago
that stuff is all so mundane. imagine if you're a closeted homosexual caught in a photo kissing another member of the same sex, and you live in a locality where that puts your life in danger. imagine you live in a theocracy and someone catches you without your head scarf. THAT is weaponization. Your examples aren't wrong but the stakes of losing control of our data are so much higher than you're imagining.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- alickz 2y ago
  I saw a post on Reddit how someone in Kenya took a still image of 2 men kissing from an elevator camera video file and posted on social media for it to go viral Seems dangerous "I have nothing to hide" makes sense to me - except sometimes you don't know what you have to hide, or it can change after the fact
- Dylan16807 2y ago
  It's all weaponization. Bring up worse uses when appropriate, but don't make this a competition to dismiss smaller misuse.
- JohnFen 2y ago
  Absolutely, but I've learned from experience that the more extreme examples tend to get dismissed pretty quickly for various reasons. The examples I used are ones that affect pretty much everybody and, more importantly, are directly relevant to me. Since I was commenting about my own personal situation, I thought it prudent to limit my response to that subset. But you're right -- there are many layers to this onion, and some are far worse than others.