vienna
07-17-13, 05:14 PM
I found this interesting:
http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/215826221.html
The amount of data being collected by various sources is staggering. There is program on CBS (USA) called "Person of Interest" about a billionaire computer genius who designs and builds for the US government a massive computer operating system capable of monitoring and analyzing any and all data coming in from all sources and determining which data represents a credible, major threat to US security. It also sees "minor" threats and crimes, but discards them as "irrelevant". The inventor realizes the "irrelevant" threats should be taken as seriously as the "major" threats and sets out to find and assist those "irrelevant" persons in need. He accomplishes this via a "backdoor" he built into the machine. He is assisted by a former CIA Black Ops assassin who has become disiilusioned with the goverment. Throughout the episodes, there are scenes from the machine's "POV" of what it is processing. I tend to think scenes such as those in various films and shows are a bit in the 'sci-fi' realm. Then I happened to catch a showing of a PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) doucmentary on the manhunt for the Boston Marathon Bombers. The similarities between the real-life manhunt's technical aspects and the fictional show "Person of Interest" are striking and uncanny. For those who would like to view the PBS documentary, here is a link:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/manhunt-boston-bombers.html
Those of you who think the government is the "Big Bad" when it comes to privacy, remember you put out far more information than the government asks for in terms of social media, marketing ploys, and various electronic devices retaining your data, not to mention how many people are so eager and content to place their data in the "cloud". Think of all the information that used to held away from sight in locked desk drawers, file cabinets photo albums, etc., that is now in the hands of commercial entities over which, in the final analysi, you really have very little control.
There are time I sometimes think Orwell was an optimist...
<O>
http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/215826221.html
The amount of data being collected by various sources is staggering. There is program on CBS (USA) called "Person of Interest" about a billionaire computer genius who designs and builds for the US government a massive computer operating system capable of monitoring and analyzing any and all data coming in from all sources and determining which data represents a credible, major threat to US security. It also sees "minor" threats and crimes, but discards them as "irrelevant". The inventor realizes the "irrelevant" threats should be taken as seriously as the "major" threats and sets out to find and assist those "irrelevant" persons in need. He accomplishes this via a "backdoor" he built into the machine. He is assisted by a former CIA Black Ops assassin who has become disiilusioned with the goverment. Throughout the episodes, there are scenes from the machine's "POV" of what it is processing. I tend to think scenes such as those in various films and shows are a bit in the 'sci-fi' realm. Then I happened to catch a showing of a PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) doucmentary on the manhunt for the Boston Marathon Bombers. The similarities between the real-life manhunt's technical aspects and the fictional show "Person of Interest" are striking and uncanny. For those who would like to view the PBS documentary, here is a link:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/manhunt-boston-bombers.html
Those of you who think the government is the "Big Bad" when it comes to privacy, remember you put out far more information than the government asks for in terms of social media, marketing ploys, and various electronic devices retaining your data, not to mention how many people are so eager and content to place their data in the "cloud". Think of all the information that used to held away from sight in locked desk drawers, file cabinets photo albums, etc., that is now in the hands of commercial entities over which, in the final analysi, you really have very little control.
There are time I sometimes think Orwell was an optimist...
<O>