Well, our collective democracies are less than perfect; easily swayed by money and special interests, not least the special interests of government agents and o

Well, our collective democracies are less than perfect; easily swayed by money and special interests, not least the special interests of government agents and other civil servants. Like many (most?) organizations, government is necessarily self-serving, (or self-perpetuating at the very least) and the power imbalance that is amplified by technological change is directed first and foremost at the preservation and survival of the very institutions that hold the reigns. Normally, we might direct our attention to our systems of checks and balances to redress any imbalance of power, but these systems were designed in an age where modern technological capabilities were simply inconceivable, much less effectively planned for. We are only starting to tentatively explore the potentially monumental implications of this shift in the balance of power. Whilst it pains me to admit this, my advice is to admit defeat, to recognize that our privacy (and with it, our freedom) has been irrevocably compromised, and to do what we can to ensure our own individual survival over the coming decades: to wit, offer our full-throated support for whatever objective the agencies claim to be currently pursuing, and to learn to be more guarded and more circumspect about what we say and think. ("I for one welcome our new silicon overlords" etc... etc...).