The Coming Authoritarianism.

[Clinamenic]

This seems to be perhaps the most prominent example of the gaping technical literacy asymmetry engendered by technocratic societies, speaking as a de facto technocrat myself.

A lot of work would need to go into platforms which genuine preserve user data, and even if some firm was willing to fund the development of such solutions, the revenue models entailed by these new platforms would likely still push users back to the unknowingly-selling-your-data arrangement.

IE, if a given consumer has a choice between a platform that costs more to use, but better protects their data, or a platform which is nominally free but capitalizes on said data, I'd wager most people would instinctively favor the latter, due to the aforementioned technical literacy asymmetry.

 

[wild greens]

apologies if this has been posted before, but it's an example of creeping surveillance through tracking cashless purchases

Norway to Track All Supermarket Purchases

Norway collects detailed data from every purchase and wants to store it indefinitely

There's also a business stream of data tracking firms giving you "rewards" for data generation via the facade of gift card resale

JamDoughnut, No 1 cashback App

JamDoughnut, No 1 cashback App, helping you be rewarded for your future loyalty. JamDoughnut helps you to budget better and be rewarded for budgeting. Get paid now for what you are going to do.

jamdoughnut.com

Or the airtime rewards model, quite similar
https://airtimerewards.app.link/friend

They'll also reward you for referring a friend whos data they'll scour and so on. Big business

 

[version]

IE, if a given consumer has a choice between a platform that costs more to use, but better protects their data, or a platform which is nominally free but capitalizes on said data, I'd wager most people would instinctively favor the latter, due to the aforementioned technical literacy asymmetry.

I don't think I'd ever trust any of them to protect people's data and wouldn't be surprised to learn that people were duped into paying more for non-existent protection.

 

[william_kent]

This seems to be perhaps the most prominent example of the gaping technical literacy asymmetry engendered by technocratic societies, speaking as a de facto technocrat myself.

A lot of work would need to go into platforms which genuine preserve user data, and even if some firm was willing to fund the development of such solutions, the revenue models entailed by these new platforms would likely still push users back to the unknowingly-selling-your-data arrangement.

IE, if a given consumer has a choice between a platform that costs more to use, but better protects their data, or a platform which is nominally free but capitalizes on said data, I'd wager most people would instinctively favor the latter, due to the aforementioned technical literacy asymmetry.

Yeah, it'll be an order issued from above by someone with no clue about storage costs and technical implementation - I can imagine some bureaucrat just saying "we'll store it in the cloud" and then having a heart attack when the first AWS bill arrives...

The UK is going to be a victim of this ignorance of technology when the UK Online Safety Bill gets passed ("think of the children") - it means service providers ( essentially anyone who runs a website or service that can be accessed online ) will have to monitor all usage while paying a licence fee to OFCOM for the privilege..this article is an eye-opener as to the scale of insanity that the bill proposes

 

[Clinamenic]

I don't think I'd ever trust any of them to protect people's data and wouldn't be surprised to learn that people were duped into paying more for non-existent protection.

Yeah and again here problem is asymmetry in technical literacy, and even that is assuming the project is open source, and most probably aren't.

The data privacy solution I'm working on will be open source and genuinely privacy protecting, but for most users it just boils down to trust, as you say. EG the user may think, how do I know if this one technical app protects my data more than this other technical app? And from that position, the guarded approach is perfectly valid.

 

[william_kent]

I should have checked before posting, that article was from last month and on the 13th July it was announced that the Online Safety Bill is to be dropped from Commons business

good news at last...

 

[version]

Yeah and again here problem is asymmetry in technical literacy, and even that is assuming the project is open source, and most probably aren't.

The data privacy solution I'm working on will be open source and genuinely privacy protecting, but for most users it just boils down to trust, as you say. EG the user may think, how do I know if this one technical app protects my data more than this other technical app? And from that position, the guarded approach is perfectly valid.

I think the closest you can get to a guarantee of privacy is just to not use the app in the first place. The data existing at all is a security risk.

 

[Clinamenic]

I think the closest you can get to a guarantee of privacy is just to not use the app in the first place. The data existing at all is a security risk.

Agreed. Short of that, I think the best guarantee a user can have of data privacy, is if local laws prohibit the platform from capitalizing on certain user data. But even then, the platform may violate the law and incur litigation fees as the cost of doing business, and/or lobby for certain policy nuances to serve as loopholes.

But even that situation is substantially better than there being no laws at all about data privacy, in my opinion.

 

[mixed_biscuits]

 

[pattycakes_]

Google says it was about 461mil, so under the 500mil as advised by the Georgia Guidestones

 

[william_kent]

Google says it was about 461mil, so under the 500mil as advised by the Georgia Guidestones

In shock news, the Georgia Guidestones were destroyed by an explosive device by persons unknown earlier this month and the remains have been dismantled for safety reasons

News of the monument's demolition has been cheered in some online circles. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said he enjoyed the bombing of the stones "at an animal level", but added he would like them to stand as an "evil edifice" exposing depopulation plans.

from wikipedia:

On July 6, 2022, an explosion occurred at the site, destroying the Swahili/Hindi language slab and causing significant damage to the capstone. Nearby residents reportedly heard and felt explosions at around 4:00 a.m.[24][18] CCTV footage recorded a vehicle leaving the scene and police are investigating the incident.[18] The remaining stones were dismantled by authorities for safety reasons later in the day with a backhoe, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.[25][3] The Elberton Star reported that digging showed no evidence that there was ever a time capsule located beneath the Georgia Guidestones.[26]

 

[pattycakes_]

Yeah, saw that. Who knows where that number comes from, interesting that the WEF bods see it the same

 

[Mr. Tea]

Apparently demented reactionary wankers concerned citizens have been spinning conspiracy theories connecting the monument to occultism for years, even though the guy who set them up was inspired by Christianity and actually used the pseudonym "Robert C. Christian" to make the point.

 

[Mr. Tea]

Do you know if they've set a schedule for the universal human megacide yet?

 

[mixed_biscuits]

 

[mixed_biscuits]

 

[Leo]

thanks for the heads up.

 

[Clinamenic]

Biscy just wait til WEF gets bullish on web3

 

[Leo]

@shakahislop is her speechwriter. Good job on this one, Shaka.

 

[Clinamenic]

@shakahislop is her speechwriter. Good job on this one, Shaka.

Noted as a footballer and a rhetorician.