The Circle: Technology and Privacy

xervantes (60)in #technology • 7 years ago (edited)

The inspiration for this article came from watching the movie "The Circle", based on the novel of the same name by Dave Eggers. I enjoyed the movie for showing us the possible implications of technology on our lives.

The movie

If you haven't seen the movie yet, my advice is to go and watch it. I think that is a very enjoyable movie with a very good narrative. I haven't read the book, so I don't know if the movie did the book justice, but for me it was one of the better movies I have seen this year thus far.
The story is about a girl who goes to work for a powerful tech company. The company is like Facebook, Google and Apple, all wrapped into one giant conglomerate. Everything looks perfect at first but in true Hollywood fashion, soon things change for the worst.
The movie does a good job of dropping subtle hints that things are not all above board at the company. In fact the company turns out to have some questionable company policies and business strategies.

The Premise

What I found interesting is that the company in the movie offered one online account that was linked to their services, like how Google's account gives you access to numerous services like mail, the search engine, online storage etc. The movie took the wide variety of the Google-like services one step further and added a Social media network into the mix. So now we have a company that not only has a central account for your online services but also a successful Social Media (think Facebook) network.
To round things off the imaginary company also employed engineering geniuses that would put most people at Apple to shame.
This resulted into a company that in real life would be something like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook and Gopro all rolled into one technological giant.

Reality check

The power of such a company would be unimaginable. With billions of customers depended on their services, a company of that magnitude would be able to dictate more than we would like. And that is exactly what happens in the movie. Just imagine that one company had your Social Media information, Email, knew your likes and dislikes, browser history, habits and produced the hardware and software you use to communicate and capture your most precious moments. Now imagine this company adding medical solutions to their lineup like smartbands that monitor your health and wireless cameras that are all interconnected.
The best is saved for last though, what if the government thought it would be a good idea to make use of the network and services of this company by tying your social security number to your account and only allow that you can vote with your account. Basically outsourcing important government tasks to a 3rd party because that company has better resources to complete those tasks.

Imagine only able to vote through your Facebook account which you can only apply for if you can verify your account with your social security number.

The benefits

Having one account for all your online services would be a a great service. No more multiple accounts and passwords. It sure would make things a lot more simple and let's not forget about the fact that there would be no need to transfer data from one account to another, it would all be in one place. All your contacts, photos, videos, favorites, everything you can imagine. No more registering online, no more verifying, no more....

Privacy

The downside of course is your right to privacy. We don't always want people to know our identity online. There can be many reasons for wanting to keep your identity hidden, some legitimate and some not so. Being forced to reveal your real identity can have an enormous impact on how we behave online. The fact that we can be anonymous also means that we can do or say things that we normally wouldn't if our identities were not concealed behind a made up username and an IP-address.
The thing is that this goes both ways, it can be a good thing or a bad thing. Think of anonymity online as a power that can be used for either good or bad. The thing is that with great power comes great responsibility.
This power is also used by undesirables, like criminals and terrorists who use the right to privacy and anonymity to hide their wrongdoings.
But on the other hand being anonymous can also be a good thing, think about whistle blowers exposing conspiracies or government cover-ups, reporters or bloggers tackling taboo subjects.
But the most important fact is that we have a right to choose whether or not we divulge our true identities.

Our daily lives

The right to privacy extends beyond our online lives. Sharing our private information with online companies is not something everyone is comfortable with. We use online services to sometimes share or store sensitive information. The idea that tech companies have access to our personal info and use that information to their advantage is not something that would be a good thing. The temptations for misusing all that private and valuable data seems too much too resist.
In the real world we are not required to identify ourselves when we buy something in a store, yet online we have to register before making a purchase.

The warning

The thing that the circle is trying to teach us is not something we haven't heard before. There are several books, movies and even games that have the same message. Take 1984 for example or the Terminator (remember Skynet) and Resident Evil's Umbrella Corp. Powerful conglomerates and technology make a bad combination.
Technological advancement is good but we must always be aware of the consequences.

My thoughts

I love technology especially IT, I believe that the internet and the advancements of IT will benefit the human race in our development as a species. But there is always a chance that too much power can be placed in the hands of one company. When this happens it will have a direct impact on our lives. As it is now market forces are ensuring that companies like Apple, Google and Facebook aren't merging, but will the government step in when this would become a possibility?
My take is that chances of a company like the Circle becoming a reality are very slim but it is wise to heed the warning signs.