Alright everyone, we're almost to the finish line!
No Place to Hide
http://www.noplacetohide.net/
I ran into a 404 Error for this site for a while for some strange reason. I learned after reading the other site that the original link has a space at the end of it, causing the aforementioned 404. So if anyone else relied on the link, either delete the empty space at the end or manually type in the site.
Now, I'm not sure what it is I should be reading here, but from the snippets I've skimmed, it is much like the link below. With the digital revolution, the ways we are all being watched and monitored evolved as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Orwell's 1984 and other dystopian works from various authors discuss this in detail before the digital revolution was even a plausible concept?
TIA and Data Mining
Long story short: this is a site with a variety of links and documents with reference as to why the TIA is going through data mining. So the government now has a collection of information on people ("information signature") and is looking for trends to stop crime and terrorist activities. I'm honestly not shocked in the least about the idea, as I've seem similar stories, and with actions such as the Patriot Act, how can you not assume something like this was going on?
Maybe I'm just too familiar with Orwell's 1984 to be shaken by this.
Youtube Link
I ran into an error stating it was taken down due to a copyright claim by Viacom. It also seems I am not the only one who had this error. If there is a new link posted, I will check it. But for now, this is the end result.
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI think that "1984" came out wayyy before any thoughts of the "digital revolution" as you call it were conceived. I think it was published in the 1940s. So that was even before computers. Maybe Orwell just had a knack for suspecting future trends. Or maybe he was a cynical dude who happened to have a point that the public should watch out for what their government is doing...
Christy
Hello Christy,
ReplyDeleteAt times like now, I wish I had a sarcasm font, because that entire section regarding "hasn't this been stated before" would have applied perfectly. You are correct that it was published in the 40's; 1949 if I remember my notes correctly.
Personally, I think Orwell was just pointing out the threats of political power, or what could happen under certain circumstances (as can be seen in some of his other works). Also consider some of the other science-fiction writers of the time and the technology theorized (not to mention how much of it has come to pass because of these writers); it is not small wonder why he thought this up, and why we are seeing aspects of it in today's society.
Just my two cents, take it as you will.
--Anthony
I too read George Orwell's "1984," not to mention a copy of the edition I own includes essays from the author, reviews from the critics, and responses from other writers. One of them came from Aldous Huxley, who wrote the dystopian novel, "Brave New World," which I also read. I do agree that the technological breakthroughs have resulted in a scenario similar to what Orwell presented, but the author himself knows better than to give in to such paranoia. He insisted that his novel was not intended as a literal prophecy into the future, but a potential warning of what could happen when civil liberties are taken for granted. If you are to look for parallels between our technologically advanced era and the setting of "1984," then trust me when I say this: you will find them. If we were to march into the direction of some kind of a mind-numbing dystopia (for lack of a better way to put it), it would resemble something more hedonistic, as demonstrated in such films as "Idiocracy" and "Wall-E." From my perspective, they utilize the pampered environment from Huxley's "Brave New World," the media's power over intellectualism via cheap entertainment from Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451," and the enforcement of conformity from Orwell's "1984" (Only instead of "thought-crimes," the offense would be labeled as "being gay" or a "f****t" as seen in "Idiocracy"). Putting Jonathan Zittrain's advice into consideration (with which Orwell himself is willing to agree), the only way the power of those up-top can be curtailed is if people exercise their freedom by becoming more technology literate. As more innovation is being encouraged and prospers, the situation becomes increasingly impossible for an individual to impose one's will upon another.
ReplyDeleteI think the whole thing reminds me of Minority Report- how soon before someone is chased for committing a crime they haven't committed yet? Even some of the stories about the FBI prodding people into plotting is rather disconcerting...
ReplyDeleteRegarding the TIA article, I think that many people are aware of systems such as TIA, although as many people should be aware of such systems as possible. Even if many people are aware of the developments of government electronic tracking systems, the very idea of privacy invasion can obviously cause outrage among many portions of the population. Even if someone is not familiar with Orwell's work, I don't think the development of systems similar to TIA should be too surprising to most people.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm not shocked by the TIA data mining or the No Place to Hide stuff, I still find it disconcerting. This is all stuff that I know, but that I pretend isn't that bad...kind of like my summer of working at a meatpacking plant on the summer sausage line. It's all palatable if you pretend that you don't know the details...
ReplyDeleteHi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, that much of what we read about this week was very Orwellian indeed. I also agree with others that TIA and data mining are disconcerting at the very least, although I described them as both fascinating and disturbing on my blog.
What the government can track on your computing devices is indeed alarming. A little off topic, but I just read that the FCC is going to try to implement more privacy for internet users, at least as it relates to advertising. Right now, advertisers can track what you are doing online, and customize their ads to you. Maybe if something can be worked out to stop that, something can be worked out to stop the government from tracking you.
ReplyDeleteI guess Orwell's 1984 shows us what happens when entities become all too powerful but The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo shows us how tech savvy citizens can fight back.
ReplyDeleteThe points about surveillance issues pre-dating 2001 are really important to keep in mind - I'm glad to see all this discussion of that. I think there's a strong tendency in our culture to notice surveillance and debate it since 9/11, but that the basis for the kind of climate we're seeing right now has been around for a long time -- probably before Orwell even. I think that often tech is created to fulfill ideas about what we want to do. What we want to do -- watch citizens, bake bread, fly -- give rise to the tech. Sometimes the other way around, of course. But with surveillance tech, I think the desire vastly predates the ability. And the desire is very much culturally present before 2001. (which seems to be the date the 'no place to hide site' wants to use?)
ReplyDeleteAlso - a bit of a sidetrack, but gotta say that's not what I got out of Dragon Tattoo. $0.02