Hi,

Had a fantastic time chatting with a friend tonight (hi, Ryan, if you’re reading this).

Something that was brought up was privacy in public spaces. Given all the technological advances and our ability to use them to monitor, will public spaces ever have privacy again?

One framing we talked about was it would be like every time you go to the park, there is always someone else there. If a crime happens, someone is watching it. If you fall, someone is watching. If you are smoking, someone is watching. If you want to be alone, someone is watching.

What is interesting about this analogy is “who is the person in the park?” Are they friendly? Are they a snitch? Do they know me? Are they following me?

The technology used and the rules we set around their use will dictate who that person in the park is. The person could just be a friendly stranger. They don’t know who I am and would call an ambulance if I fell down. They could be an obsessive stalker, knowing exactly who I am, tracking what I do, and following me outside the park. Is the person an undercover cop? A salesman?

I like the idea of smart cities. I like my cell phone. I like the internet. I like technology. I’m not sure how I feel about everything needing to be tracked.

Tracking data are foundational to many of the advances humans have made. To send a message, we need to track it. To create so many goods, we need to track those goods. To know how well my heart is doing, we need to monitor it. 

(There’s also another topic: generating data isn’t new, just out ability to track it is).

But do we need to track everything?

I’m conflicted. I see that there are benefits. More data means more insights and better decisions. I don’t know if this means better outcomes. We could be measuring poor indicators or interpreting the data wrong. Our flawed understanding of measuring intelligence lead to justifications for eugenics.

There is also something unsettling about everything being tracked. I feel less free to experiment and fail if I know I’m being measured. When learning an instrument or trying to draw, if someone was watching me, I’d feel too insecure and not get into as much.

Does it make a difference if the person watching me isn’t doing anything malicious? I think so. It’s almost impossible to know the person watching me isn’t going to do something that makes me uncomfortable. Maybe they’re watching me draw and say a comment that makes me self-conscious. Perhaps my video recommendations all become about drawing even though I’ve moved on.

I see this fear when I talk to people about privacy. They understand they are being tracked and don’t know what will happen. What is Facebook going to do with my data? I don’t know. Even if the person monitoring me is clear about how data is initially used, I don’t know if it’s not going to be used for another purpose. E.g., a Singapore contract tracing app was initially used just for contract tracing. 1 year later, the police were given access to the location data.

Night,

Lucas

p.s. had some other ideas that I didn’t get to

Can people ever be alone anymore?

I like alone time but that isn’t always alone. I can be on internet which is tracked.

People were using other mediums to connect, even while alone (books to connect to other’s thoughts). -- Less tracking involved tho.

To be really, really alone I’m out in the woods. Though it’s a good idea for people to know where you are.

An idea in here about how people inherently want to be connected.

Hi,

Had a fantastic time chatting with a friend tonight (hi, Ryan, if you’re reading this).

Something that was brought up was privacy in public spaces. Given all the technological advances and our ability to use them to monitor, will public spaces ever have privacy again?

One framing we talked about was it would be like every time you go to the park, there is always someone else there. If a crime happens, someone is watching it. If you fall, someone is watching. If you are smoking, someone is watching. If you want to be alone, someone is watching.

What is interesting about this analogy is “who is the person in the park?” Are they friendly? Are they a snitch? Do they know me? Are they following me?

The technology used and the rules we set around their use will dictate who that person in the park is. The person could just be a friendly stranger. They don’t know who I am and would call an ambulance if I fell down. They could be an obsessive stalker, knowing exactly who I am, tracking what I do, and following me outside the park. Is the person an undercover cop? A salesman?

I like the idea of smart cities. I like my cell phone. I like the internet. I like technology. I’m not sure how I feel about everything needing to be tracked.

Tracking data are foundational to many of the advances humans have made. To send a message, we need to track it. To create so many goods, we need to track those goods. To know how well my heart is doing, we need to monitor it. 

(There’s also another topic: generating data isn’t new, just out ability to track it is).

But do we need to track everything?

I’m conflicted. I see that there are benefits. More data means more insights and better decisions. I don’t know if this means better outcomes. We could be measuring poor indicators or interpreting the data wrong. Our flawed understanding of measuring intelligence lead to justifications for eugenics.

There is also something unsettling about everything being tracked. I feel less free to experiment and fail if I know I’m being measured. When learning an instrument or trying to draw, if someone was watching me, I’d feel too insecure and not get into as much.

Does it make a difference if the person watching me isn’t doing anything malicious? I think so. It’s almost impossible to know the person watching me isn’t going to do something that makes me uncomfortable. Maybe they’re watching me draw and say a comment that makes me self-conscious. Perhaps my video recommendations all become about drawing even though I’ve moved on.

I see this fear when I talk to people about privacy. They understand they are being tracked and don’t know what will happen. What is Facebook going to do with my data? I don’t know. Even if the person monitoring me is clear about how data is initially used, I don’t know if it’s not going to be used for another purpose. E.g., a Singapore contract tracing app was initially used just for contract tracing. 1 year later, the police were given access to the location data.

Night,

Lucas

p.s. had some other ideas that I didn’t get to

Can people ever be alone anymore?

I like alone time but that isn’t always alone. I can be on internet which is tracked.

People were using other mediums to connect, even while alone (books to connect to other’s thoughts). -- Less tracking involved tho.

To be really, really alone I’m out in the woods. Though it’s a good idea for people to know where you are.

An idea in here about how people inherently want to be connected.