AI on Steroids. Smart Future or Surveillance State?
Word Count: Approx. 2230
AI on Steroids. Smart Future or Surveillance State?
As surveillance technologies get smarter, the modern city's dependance on them looks set to skyrocket. Smart surveillance within urban centres aids civil operations and mass movement. It mitigates problems while augmenting efficiencies. Everything from the smooth flow of traffic to effective policing is further refined through the use of enhanced overwatch.
Mankind has thereby given birth to a hungry supercharged digital creature—one increasingly relied upon to keep our daily lives in check—whose insatiable appetite for zeros and ones cannot be satisfied. The solution resides in feeding said cybernetic behemoth, therein maximising productivity while endeavouring to appease our species' addiction to ever evolving interconnectivity. It would appear AI on steroids is with us to stay.
A handful of outspoken critics have therefore reignited the 'debate' as to the effects of technology and surveillance on the privacy of citizens. This latest bout of rhetoric, care of a select few, resembles not so much cordial discourse between diametrically opposed views as it does blunt exhortation. All efforts are therefore squarely focussed on convincing the population at large to wake up and take notice. To properly consider the validity of their plight is to be enlightened. These are strong sentiments, which in emanating from the central left of the apolitical spectrum may in effect be warning us that the very cornerstones of democracy are exhibiting signs of fatigue. At stake are the sorts of liberties we in the West have come to enjoy and cherish. It is the basic three pillars of free thought, speech and association as well a right to privacy which are most exposed, therefore at risk of decay.
To be sure, Orwellian styled cautionary tales, the likes of which formed the basis of dystopic novel writing, are no longer exclusively the realm of hypothetical analyses. Genre reallocation may be their ultimate demise, for such plot lines seem to have largely bridged the gap between actuality and fiction. In so doing they have lost their sting, ergo their efficacy. With their once inherent shock value in tatters, such iconic works of genius as 1984 and Brave New World resemble more an accurate case in point than ominous warning. Yet, these and other similarly themed early twentieth century works were not intended to age so poorly so as to emerge as stellar examples of prophecy. Their narratives were once considered unthinkable. Their scary themes could be relied upon to alert the public to the dangers associated with diminished personal autonomy and agency. Modernity, however, has them referencing entrenched realities.
The integration, for instance, of state-of-the-art monitoring apparatus into the lives of ordinary people is for the most part accomplished. Almost every living being, by way of sporting a smartphone, is in effect unwittingly subject to a complex form of scrutiny and analysis; a statistically fuelled cyber gamesmanship of sorts. The average citizen is unable to divorce themselves from said interface, therefore umbilically connected to a motley assortment of socially engineered experiments. Stepping back for a mere moment to consider both the gravity and ramifications of this achievement is to be blown away by its magnitude, yet the vague notion among the populace that big brother is able to track their every move, not to mention affect their actions, constitutes a subconscious forgone conclusion at best.
It seems unlikely that the world's multi-national tech giants have not already perfected an advanced calibre of personal information harvesting, one with the ability to profile citizens to a tee. Paradoxically, the capacity for such intelligence gathering portals to build, anticipate and project an increasingly probable range of feasible outcomes, thus enabling enhanced forms of societal house keeping to take place, seems in keeping with the broader aims of Western civilisation. Indeed, the world over, a race to see which style of governance manages to keep its citizens most engaged; productive and happiest overall seems to be at the centre of geopolitical strategy.
These are the sorts of human resource resembling objectives which require uber-reliable statistics to be effective. Enter facebook, TikTok, instagram, X or any other number of interactive social media platforms, which all carry powerful backend information harvesting capabilities. Through the use of social media, wealthy stakeholders are able to gain an accurate sample of a region's citizenry, thereby maximising the role human beings play in furthering the branch of civilisation they themselves prioritise. This is usually—though not exclusively—the one in which they were born and bred. It is invariably the region of the world as well the political framework in which they have built up significant equity; the one in which they are heavily invested in every sense of the word; the one their own progeny will inherit.
Despite aforementioned considerations, not only is the very nature of monitoring and information gathering being brought into disrepute, but more specifically the ability for powerbrokers the world over to access others' sensitive personal information with alarming ease. Powerful spyware programs capable of trespassing into the private affairs of ordinary citizens are now considered by some inter-industry aficionados to be standard gun for hire commodities. Cellphone hacking has been singled out as perhaps the most concerning of all. The allegation being that spyware is utilised by governments, multi-national corporations and authoritarian regimes throughout the world to single out persons of interest. Cellphones act as a complete three-in-one geographical tracking, communications monitoring and personality profiling tool. Hackers are able to gain covert control over a mobile device's entire content and functionality. They can access its camera and microphone in real time while recording live video and in progress conversations. Moreover, phones are a reservoir of sensitive personal information which if offloaded without an owner's knowledge can be used to gain a strategic advantage over them; or worse, be manipulated for the express purpose of decimating their societal standing.
Peoples of all walks of life, in particular those determined to speak truth to power, are being warned they risk falling prey to coercion, bullying or bribery from on high. Ironically, such a mild-mannered incursion might be considered less pejorative. According to some reports, this invasive technology—in the wrong hands—may already have been complicit in silencing opposition to the point of killing dissidents, journalists, political opponents and others who dared challenge authority. What's more is a concerned outspoken minority claim this highly secretive and unregulated industry is only growing, and fast. High profile activists such as former NSA intelligence contractor come whistleblower Edward Snowden and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ronan Farrow, to name a few, have been re-energised by the issue, thereby ramping up their online presence. Numerous fresh public appearances and broadcasts have been scheduled and published of late, with the latter having released a new piece of documentary styled investigative journalism into the topic—‘Surveilled’.
A Spy in Your Pocket? Ronan Farrow Exposes Secrets of High-Tech Spyware in New Film "Surveilled"
In response to ardent critics, those who purpose themselves with developing and promoting spyware say they do their utmost to ensure its good and proper use—to catch bad guys like terrorists, criminals and paedophiles. However, due to inherent secrecy, which can to some degree be understood, it is near impossible to learn of instances where carelessness, neglect, exploitation or simply lacklustre management practices may have led to questionable outcomes, thereby allowing innocent citizens to become targets of unwarranted attention.
Governmentally tethered advocates for spyware, including those of the US intelligence machine, cite their own necessity to be on top of latest hacking trends, thus ensuring their own experts remain ahead of the curve. This presumably requires departments within the NSA and CIA to become intimately aquatinted with spyware programs, doing so before seedy underworld elements and criminal enterprises have a chance to monopolise the space. Again, this argument might to some degree be endorsed by the average Joe, though it does little to appease those innocent folk who have fallen victim to its improper use.
A more palatable use-case scenario, perhaps a coalescence which in some ways borrows from most all aforementioned ramblings yet is rarely if at all spoken about, has more in common with a high stakes game of chess than it does rampant gun slinging. Such would be the nature of a more subtle and sophisticated operation, one in which victory is best served through long-term strategic manoeuvring. This is a class of convert activity which puts change management front and centre of its agenda; one through which people are celebrated and empowered rather than humiliated and diminished in stature. It is a style of reconnoissance which aims to identify a nations best and brightest, subsequently promoting them to the highest positions of administrative responsibility. Investigations of this high calibre might go along the lines of vetting a region's available talent, thus ensuring the right people, enter the right jobs, at precisely the right moments in history. In this way, appointees are able to service the greater good of themselves, the societies to which they belong, as well the entities who employ them.
In politics for example, such forms of talent acquisition and management might facilitate a series of multi-directional promotions, each one designed to strategically maximise a political party's available personnel, in turn bolstering up a country's capacity as a whole to exercise power and influence in the world. With this in mind, gaining access to a prospective candidate's entire repertoire of private information, not to mention one heck of a comprehensive psychological profile, minimises the chance of a mismatch between their abilities and the demanding nature of important high-level work. Such access to private information also enables profile comparisons to be made between candidates, thereby ensuring the most suitable individuals are chosen for given roles.
Some might suggest it fare play for mega-rich company heads, fortune 500 CEOs and politicians to be scrutinised in every way possible, including being spied upon by their puppet masters, but what does spyware mean for the average citizen? Should the middle classes be worried, or much like our attitude towards social media do we turn a blind eye to its effects? Is not ignorance, after all, a most sublime form of bliss? Worthy questions all.
If surveillance is a necessary evil … and is required in order for our societies to remain competitive … and all this spying gobbledygook is purportedly in place for our own safety and protection, then how are we, the ordinary citizens of this world to conclude that allowing spyware to flourish will not result in the quashing of our rights and liberties? I dare say there is no one-size-fits-all answer to these and other poignant queries. It all depends on where you live.
Perhaps one way to approximate a population's freedom levels stems from how outspoken its minorities are. In this regard countries like the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, followed closely by most of Central, Western and Southern Europe seem to reside on the healthier side of such an equation. In some ways the more divided a country's population, the healthier their state of democracy. By this measure the United States of America may well be the healthiest of them all. That's not to suggest that abuses of power do not take place in liberal western democracies, but it seems we in the west enjoy a vast, wide and varied brand of freedom, one which values individual rights and autonomy above almost all other considerations. I dare say this commitment to libertarian values constitutes some of the most profound freedoms ever experienced by humans. Herein lies a dilemma for the small highly vocal band of spyware critics; a paradox which may well diminish the validity of their core gripe. To this end, if staunch negative criticism of spyware is not shutdown, meaning if investigative journalists and the like are able to publish their findings and freely conduct public meetings or protests without dire consequences, then perhaps for the majority of middle class citizens this may well be seen as cancelling out the original problem.
My own take on said issue is derived from being born and raised in Sydney, Australia, where I reside to this day. My local observations lead me to conclude that Australia's central mainstream spectrum of society is 'A-OK'. Any notion of being spied upon is squeezed out by more pressing concerns. Most run-of-the-mill Australian's are too preoccupied with financially keeping their heads above water to provoke those in power. They generally don't bite the hand that feeds them nor do they tend to challenge authority. Instead, they are forever dropping off kids to school; going to work; enjoying a gym session; taking in a movie or show; going out to dinner; catching up with friends; planning for that elusive once a year camping trip, or holiday. The list of activities at one's disposal may indeed go on indefinitely. Yet in practice the middle class Australian barely has sufficient time for his or her own hobbies much less the capacity to ruffle feathers, especially of those charged with running the country. This is a state of affairs the current Australian Government, as well all future ones regardless of persuasion, will make every effort to maintain; a position enthusiastically endorsed by the county's elite establishment. As for dirty words like Spyware … Surveillance … Hacking. They might as well constitute obscure terminological gibberish. They are rarely uttered if all apparent to the modern working class Aussie … just the way Big Brother likes it. "No worries mate!"