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Well, I think part of it can be a question of whether you think that the government is evil or stupid. A simple way of thinking about it is asking whether the

Well, I think part of it can be a question of whether you think that the government is evil or stupid. A simple way of thinking about it is asking whether the government uses information to make decisions or just to justify them. Goverment == Evil ------------------ Before PRISM: Bob: "Hey, Bill, I'm feeling bored tonight. Want to go hit Paul Graham with a crowbar until he confesses to terrorism?" Bill: "Sounds fun, Bob, but we don't have anything on him. Let's just sit on our butts and collect a paycheck for doing nothing." After PRISM: Bob: "Hey, Bill, I'm feeling bored tonight. Want to go hit Paul Graham with a crowbar?" Bill: "Sounds fun, Bob. Hey, it looks like he ate at a restaurant whose owner gave to an animal rights group whose mailing list sent an update message to a teenager who might be connected to ALF. I'll go get the crowbar." Goverment == Stupid ------------------- Before PRISM: Bob: "Hey, Bill, I'm feeling bored tonight. Want to go hit Paul Graham with a crowbar until she confesses to terrorism?" Bill: "Good thinking, Bob. Paul Graham is a woman programmer." Bob: "And all women programmers are terrorists." Bill: "So Paul Graham is a terrorist. I'll go get the crowbar" After PRISM: Bob: "Hey, Bill, I'm feeling bored tonight. Want to go hit Paul Graham with a crowbar until she confesses to terrorism?" Bill: "Good thinking, Bob. Except PRISM is saying that female programmers have a 95% chance of not being terrorists. Also, there's a 65% chance that Paul Graham is male. Paul Graham might not actually be a terrorist" Bob: "No shit? Well, that would have been embarrassing. Let's just sit on our butts and collect a paycheck for doing nothing." ------------------- Clearly this is all a terrible caricature and the government contains a mix of stupid and evil. However, if you believe that the government is mostly stupid, then programs like this will increase the government's intelligence and decrease atrocities. On the other hand, if the government is more evil than stupid, keeping information out of the government's hands is the best course of action. Well, the best course of action in either case is to just take away Bill's crowbar, but that discussion sidesteps the entire privacy debate.

marshray 13y ago
No it's more like: [Secret impersonal machine-learning algorithm follows links on social networks, private phone calls, and financial transactions and decides you should be put on the "threat" list and you (and potentially your friends) are continually surveilled and treated with extreme negative prejudice in every interaction with public servants. You attempt to complain and learn of the evidence against you, but you are stonewalled by official denials and national security.]

marshray 13y ago

No it's more like: [Secret impersonal machine-learning algorithm follows links on social networks, private phone calls, and financial transactions and decides you should be put on the "threat" list and you (and potentially your friends) are continually surveilled and treated with extreme negative prejudice in every interaction with public servants. You attempt to complain and learn of the evidence against you, but you are stonewalled by official denials and national security.]