for those concerned about privacy

[zyxt9]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/16/opinion/schneier-internet-surveillance/index.html?c=tech

I've posted numerous times that people will put computer chips in their head and heard backlash that people won't do that because they afraid of losing their privacy.

I've often replied how we already have lost our privacy, so it is silly to think people will not willingly put chips in their head in the future.

This article will hopefully shed some light on the degree to which we have voluntarily sacrificed privacy, and how quickly and easily that happened.

And this doesn't even scratch the surface when you consider the NSA does far more than what is described here.

 

[redandguilty]

I saw a business presentation recently where the example company being discussed had software to determine moods from video. There's a lot they can do without chips in the near term.

 

[zyxt9]

Absolutely, I just don't see them being able to alter the moods (make a depressive person not suicidal nor homocidal) by medication as being effective enough. Maybe something other than chips will work even better, but it is pretty obvious meds are not an ideal solution.

Being able to identify moods is an important step. So many important pieces being worked on. I'd wager some research is being done on vocal tension analysis to identify moods too.

 

[zyxt9]

You might have heard about the woman who jumped from 8th floor with her baby, she died and baby survived. Well someone I am helping recover from Hurricane Sandy lives next door to the husband's mother and met the woman many times. She was the type to do work in Africa to help people, was involved in various charities and non-profits doing good work. She was a well educated woman. From what I gathered the baby fell one day and afterward began having seizures. She blamed herself for not protecting her son and could no longer live with knowledge she had so damaged her son. Obviously she was having severe post-pardem depression. They tried to get her help, but it was ineffective unfortunately. Husband is a mess. Sad how someone who was so "normal" could have her brain change like that. Her employer had even given her personal leave to help her get help she needed to get through her problems. She wrote a 13 page suicide note explaining why she could not go on living with the guilt. Husband had left the house an hour before and she called him telling him to come home immediately, but before he could get there she strapped baby into one of those bjorn type carriers and jumped.

Someday we will develop better ways of helping people like this. She was a good person and unfortunately had a tramatic experience she could not overcome and things went from bad to terrible. I just feel like meds can take too long to work and often need tweaking. Often people need more immediate corrective help, but unfortunately we haven't developed it yet, but I believe there is hope in the near future.

 

[redandguilty]

I'd wager some research is being done on vocal tension analysis to identify moods too.

They've been doing that for a while.

 

[zyxt9]

They've been doing that for a while.

Yeah, figured they had. So many elements being researched and for so long now that they are getting closer and closer to full functionality.

 

[redandguilty]

example (not directly related to the talk I saw) pulse from video color change amplification

 

[TheVictors]

I met a couple guys on a business trip in Scottsdale who deal in the selling/re-selling and management of this data. Pretty scary some of the basic information that almost everyone voluntarily gives up all the time and it's some of the most benign examples that people never consider.

"Like" on FB or any sort of rating done on any message board or forum ...having not only your browser history recorded by IP address but all the cross-search functionality ...

and then I think about the "average" person on the internet who maybe isn't quite as aware or paranoid and all the information so easily obtained. my Yahoo! email I use for registering on sites, etc was "hacked" by someone in Bulgaria on Saturday morning. I got a bunch of "errors" in reply to old email addresses that were emailed but have to say I was impressed that Yahoo alerted me to the fraudulent log-in.

A year ago ...actually at the same event I am speaking at on Thursday in Beverly Hills, an IT security expert said he was only going to talk about some of the dangers regarding the internet and smartphones because if he talked about the more serious threats, he said nobody would want to use their phone or laptop ever again.

 

[redandguilty]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...may-download-new-skills-to-your-brain/250775/
study summary claims fMRI can be used to improve performance of visual tasks by inducing specific brain activity suggesting that it may be possible to teach through magnetic neurofeedback.

 

[zyxt9]

that is AWESOME news red...gotta love the possibilities. granted you also have to be mindful of misuse, but the positives and benefits are huge!

 

[Michchamp]

...

A year ago ...actually at the same event I am speaking at on Thursday in Beverly Hills, an IT security expert said he was only going to talk about some of the dangers regarding the internet and smartphones because if he talked about the more serious threats, he said nobody would want to use their phone or laptop ever again.

I've heard the same thing from our privacy counsel. The language in most mobile apps was enough to freak me out, so I deleted "Angry Birds" and crap like that, and don't install any of that garbage on my phone.

most people I talk to are like "meh." or worse "I'm not doing anything wrong, why do I care?" well... mistakes can be made.

the wife has the same attitude, which didn't bother me before, but now that we're going to be sharing accounts and such, it does... we need to come to some terms here.

 

[byco42]

So apps like Pandora, Twitter, FB, MLB, NHL (of course, I'm asking for a friend) should be deleted from (my, hypothetically) iPhone?

 

[Michchamp]

So apps like Pandora, Twitter, FB, MLB, NHL (of course, I'm asking for a friend) should be deleted from (my, hypothetically) iPhone?

I don't use any of those. I sign in and out of facebook manually, without the app.

the makers of "Farmville" and those other pop games, like "Words with friends"... Zynga and the like, their whole business model was based on collecting your data and selling it to marketers. If you read the terms and conditions & their privacy policies when you sign up, it's insane the things they ask for. There's no reason they need all that if you're just buying a game and pinging other people with some bits of data to play remotely.

web/internet games have been around for years, and they never needed all that data before.

 

[Michchamp]

I don't really harbor any illusions of security just by steering clear of some of the more blatant examples of data mining and tracking; the number of goofy start-ups that push the envelop regarding data privacy laws is continuously mushrooming, and they all have clever ways of getting on your computer and tracking you.

the FTC does not have anywhere near the resources to monitor their collection practices, and the incentives to cheat the law are probably irresistible to the average web entrepeneur who would probably tell you they are "antiquated" and "stand in the way of progress" anyway. and if they do get caught, the amount of the fine is miniscule compared to the amount they can make by harvesting and selling this data.

 

[byco42]

I don't use any of those. I sign in and out of facebook manually, without the app.

the makers of "Farmville" and those other pop games, like "Words with friends"... Zynga and the like, their whole business model was based on collecting your data and selling it to marketers. If you read the terms and conditions & their privacy policies when you sign up, it's insane the things they ask for. There's no reason they need all that if you're just buying a game and pinging other people with some bits of data to play remotely.

web/internet games have been around for years, and they never needed all that data before.

I just deleted FB and Twitter from the iPhone.

 

[Michchamp]

I just deleted FB and Twitter from the iPhone.

data mining & collection is one of the biggest industry boondoggles around; totally under most people's radar.

 

[Thumb]

I just deleted FB and Twitter from the iPhone.

Well I'm not saying that was not a good idea, but probably like fixing the barn door after the horses have gotten out.

 

[zyxt9]

That isn't far off thumb, once your info is out it is damn near impossible to keep it from others. One would likely need to move and change contact info including but not limited to phone numbers and email addresses, as well as create new bank account numbers, but inevitably even with all that work to hide the data will eventually get reconnected to you even if you try your hardest to live off the grid. The banks and mortgage companies for starters will link back. You would ned to go to another level, like create a new identity and never again contact friends and family.

 

[byco42]

Well I'm not saying that was not a good idea, but probably like fixing the barn door after the horses have gotten out.

Agreed. Kind of like the toddler who closes his eyes and thinks no one can see him.

 

[byco42]

And there's this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...n-scans-predict-criminal-likely-reoffend.html