Your phone. Your computer. Your tablet. Forget the nanny cam stuffed inside a teddy bear, if you want to spy on someone in your house just look to the devices already within arm’s reach. Each of these items have at least one camera that doesn’t require any additional hardware to spy on you or any other passerby. It may have taken a couple extra years, but big brother is here and he is big. Privacy is a thing of the past and while this may provide some comforts such as being able to global position yourself out of a bad sense of direction, you have to realize you probably aren’t the only one with access to “current location”.
Many works of art in different mediums explore this lack of privacy. One very recent addition that is quite popular is the film “Ex Machina.” Small spoilers may exist in the rest of this paragraph so beware. The main character Eva achieved AI that is incredibly lifelike in both physical and “cognitive” functioning through the help of a search engine akin to Google. The search engine used how people searched the internet to create a map of how people think and used cameras on personal devices to create realistic facial expressions, vocal inflection and body language. If you haven’t watched the movie, I implore you too look at an extreme way in which this technology can be used.
This article: Your Computer and Phone Cameras Are On– Beware! Explores many instances of the malicious use of cameras installed in personal devices. From government agencies to everyday criminals, people are undetectably activating cameras and microphones to surveil individuals for a variety of reasons. Though government agencies may use these means to uncover terrorists and threats, I am not completely comfortable with idea my phone capturing not-so-selfies. The methods employed can inactivate the indicator light or the playback screen can be minimized.
It may be a bit paranoid but I use one of the methods suggested at the end of the article and cover my cameras when doing so isn’t inconvenient. My PC’s camera has a build in hiding method so it can be manually turned off. Do you think government agencies should have the right to surveil your life indiscriminately if it aids in protecting you? Have you ever covered your phone or computers camera in fear that someone might be looking in?
