A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


October 25, 2013

Privacy vs Surveillance

     Bought any new appliances lately?  If you have, then you know that they have become "Smart".  Yep, for the last few years "Smart Energy" products have been hailed as the savior of the environment. They are supposed to save the planet from excess use of energy and, oh, by the way, it will save the consumer some of their hard-earned money, too.
     And we fell for it hook, line and sinker.  You see, consumer appliances are now built with RFID chips and wireless internet connections that enable devices like televisions, refrigerators, printers, and computers to communicate with each other and generally make life easier for us, right? But do you realize that all this convenience comes at a stiff price?  And that cost is your privacy.
     What this means, in a nutshell, is this .... every dimension of your personal life could be tracked.  According to an article on InfoWars.com, everything from daily travel routes to eating habits will be traceable. Your cell phone already transmits where you are every minute of the day, and you can now buy virtually anything, with a swipe of your finger.  Don't you think that data reveals something about you?
     Every day objects will be transmitting data 24/7.  And it's not just your phone.  Consider this:  that "Smart Energy" refrigerator has chips that can read all the bar codes on the items you bought at the grocery store.  Are you a diabetic?  Whoa, there's an awful lot of "unhealthy" food in your refrigerator; too much ice cream and frozen desserts; whole milk instead of skim; is that bacon?
     And those grocery store loyalty cards?  The loyalty certainly isn't directed at you!  They are being used by insurance companies to track what you are buying and eating, and that data is then utilized to hike your insurance rates.  Customer A buys a lot of white bread, pancake mix and syrup, and those healthy-looking pretzels?  Well, the data collectors know that the first ingredient in those pretzels is (gasp!) that dreaded enriched white flour!
      In the November-December issue of The Futurist, Richard Yonck writes, “In a world of total connectivity, the rate at which a household consumes sugar, salt, tobacco, and alcohol would potentially be an open book to insurers seeking to control costs.”  But it's not only your insurance rates that will be affected.  Data will be compiled on each and every one of us about our lifestyles: what we eat; how often we get our medical check-ups; whether we have gym memberships; what television shows we watch; whether we attend church, etc.  That data can then be used to build a "picture" of who we are and how we affect society.  Do you honestly trust that information to be kept private?  Do you believe that all this information is being gathered for solely magnanimous purposes?  Once again, I sense an apparatus being constructed to monitor the individual for the benefit of the collective.
     Am I wrong?  Couldn't future medical care be determined on the basis of how much value you bring society (the collective)?  And what if your profile doesn't fit what "the committee" deems is the perfect citizen; what if you are adjudged to be "nonproductive" or "incompatible" with what the data shows to be best for all?  I know this sounds like it's coming straight out of a science fiction movie, but the devices are in place, and they are providing the necessary data to implement such a nightmarish scenario.  The wheels have been set in motion, and I fear our privacy is on a runaway train, headed towards destruction.

Matthew 6:3-4      "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
   

No comments:

Post a Comment