Smart Devices as a Massive Surveillance Network

The digital era brought a landscape of technological convenience. We now carry devices everywhere, be they smartphones, tablets or laptops. As smart devices become more powerful, that progress brings benefits to help us do more, but they also come with related surveillance issues that are worrisome.

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The dystopia of mass surveillance from out technological comfort isn't to be found in a near future, but right now as governments already use them to spy on us. Smart devices have advanced surveillance capabilities that track our everyday movements. The ability for the smart device to know where it and you are, is what provides many convenient features a lot of people have come to rely upon.

Smart devices can tell us when the weather is changing with weather updates before we ask for them. They can tell us of nearby shops or restaurants. Surveillance capabilities are built into these devices from the start, and we embrace them. It's only a matter of time because what we embrace is used against us as part of a new massive surveillance grid to keep track of us physical and digitally.

Massive surveillance is on the boom in totalitarian regimes or in less developed regions where the authorizes want to keep people under control. But it's also increasing in Western nations and other developed countries. For instance, Britain has one camera for every 11 people. The surveillance state is on the rise, as the state likes to have us under their thumb with a pulse on the nation.

Law enforemcent and security services are also increasing their use of technology to surveil the population. Many are welcomed, such as police body cameras which relieve concerns of police brutality. But when face recognition technologies become efficient enough to work in tandem, then everyone can be identified and cataloged as they pass police officers or security checkpoints. We have even started to welcome surveillance robots into our homes with Alexa and Google Home, as they spy into our lives for our benefit.

People don't realize what they're supporting, and it seems it's only going to get worse. Invasive technology is going to grow as it becomes more proficient and advanced, making a surveillance network easier to establish. Tech giants like Facebook are filing patents to recognize emotions from voices, as has Amazon filed a patent to detect illness by analyzing the emotional state in a voice. They want to increase the spying and surveillance that goes on in ordinary life, and people will likely welcome it.

As more smart devices grow in the Internet of Things, they will all become interconnected. Devices from our family and friends will all surround us to create information grids. Algorithms will be employed to pattern our behavior and identify us. The virtual home assistance might become mandatory after governments realize how they can be used to solve criminal cases like murders.

After all, don't you have nothing to hide? Don't you want to help promote the security and safety for everyone? Or are you a threat to us all? That seems to be the narrative that will develop.

The dystopian future is at our doorstep, knocking on our doors. The creeping surveillance state will grow as it encroaches into our lives and smothers us out of our privacy in the name of convenience and security.

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Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.

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