Blog #4 Privacy

"Sorry, I didn't catch that. Try again."

Surely, we've all heard this above phrase come from our iPhone a time or two by mistake. If Siri was already listening enough to think you were trying to talk to her, it makes you wonder how often and how closely she is listening into your everyday conversations. 

In our modern society, technology has creeped its way into virtually every aspect of life, from smart phones, smart refrigerators, and Alexa systems that can lock doors and turn off lights. While these features are certainly convenient and provide a new level of efficiency to our daily lives, it does not come without risks to our privacy and a heightened concern for digital surveillance. 

In the corresponding TED Talk videos, which can be accessed here, under Week 3: Day 2, several speakers give insight into various topics that are a growing concern for those of us living in the digital age. 

Juan Enriquez uses the visual of tattoos on our bodies as storytelling elements similar to that of social media. Everything we choose to publish about ourselves adds to this story and image of who we are, and it's out there forever, for anyone to see. We have created "electronic tattoos," and now there is a record of our online presence that can be accessed by someone to form an opinion about us before they've ever spoken a word to us. He also mentions the idea of "immortality" in that this presence and image will live on far past our physical body.

Catherine Crump highlights police surveillance, and how it is not limited to those guilty of wrongdoing, but massive amounts of data are being collected on everyone at all times. By knowing the location of our car and having an image of our license plate, these watchful eyes are able to know if we go to church, which grocery store is our favorite, and other information that may not seem all that risky to know but adds to the bigger picture of just how much information is collected on us- even the small trivial things. 

Other TED talk speakers discussed how phones were intentionally designed to be surveillance tools, and not for the more commonly thought use: basic communication. We all use the same devices, and if one phone can be monitored to take down a hacker, the same phone can be monitored in the same way even though it's in the hands of a law-abiding citizen using it for average purposes. Everyone is vulnerable to this level of surveillance. 

All of these topics are concerning to me because I have a phone, I drive a car, and I am a user of social media. There is plenty of information that I willingly share with the internet, but knowing that even the information I would like to stay private may find its way out there anyway is of course bothersome. The government and online platforms should be candid about the data they are collecting, especially sites that are selling this information, so that users understand what is at risk for them. As consumers though, we should be conscious of what we're clicking, what cookies we're accepting, and doing what we can to educate ourselves on protecting our own privacy.