Surveillance State

When we first moved to China for what turned out to be a 15 month stay, one of the big things that you immediately notice, in contrast to life in the United States (at least back in 2018) was that surveillance cameras were everywhere.

On the bus, in the subway, on every stop light and seemingly on every lamp post and especially in "residential compounds" where we lived. They even had a special guard room, sometimes with glass windows, where you could view all the camera feeds that the guards watched.

When we got back to the States after being gone for almost 2 years it became clear that the surveillance state had started in American. Land of the FREE. The difference was WE were the ones implementing the surveillance by openly installing doorbell cameras and others on our homes.

You are now all but guaranteed to be on camera just by stepping out your front door anywhere in America. And many people freely have cameras inside their homes now!

That is just the beginning though. Check this out.

And a recent follow up makes the situation even crazier.

Also, turns out the images these cameras take are public record. Well, until they pay off enough politicians anyway.

The surveillance goes much deeper of course. Many apps on your cell phone track your precise location everywhere you go, what apps you use and even what you do on them.

I don't think there are any simple answers to privacy questions in the digital age that we live in.

I do think you should be aware of the state of the world around you. Which unfortunately often entails a good dose of surveillance. Whether it be video, facial ID or something else.

Europe is ahead of us - in a negative way - in this regard. It does allow us to see what is coming for us here in America. Remember how Apple was the great defender of privacy just a few years ago. Turns out they are more than willing to just flip a switch in Europe to allow everyone's communications to be scanned before they are encrypted. Big tech and big government will almost always be against you in this regard. Especially when they are teamed up.

Even as I write this in my office there is a camera behind me that watches me as I work. I hate it. I hate that I think about it sometimes, back there, watching me.

I'm not sure the best way to maintain our privacy. Try to be careful of who & what (apps etc.) you give access to your personal information.

I think AI will continue to encroach and whittle away at our privacy until we truly are living in a "1984" dystopia. I don't see much that will stem that tide besides buying some land in sub-saharan Africa somewhere and checking out of the rat race. 😄

When you get a chance to vote, maybe it's an additional filter you can use when choosing a political candidate.

Just know, whatever you're doing, God is always watching. And, most likely, someone else too.