Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Some thoughts on privacy (based on 1984)

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“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”
-George Orwell, "1984"
I just read 1984 and audio-booked The Handmaid's Tale. At the same time. There's a depressing combination.

But I finally understand the 'privacy matters' argument.

Knowledge is power, power is knowledge. If all of my data (biological info, transit patterns, texts) are shared with higher powers (companies, government), it can be both good and bad.

The good part is these higher powers can use it to make our lives better. Health can improve, traffic can move faster, and crimes can be stopped (maybe). Plus, it's all encrypted, so no one will really know it's me, anyway.

But as 1984 taught me, our freedom is the right to think "I'M FREE" without anyone knowing it. Even if it's encrypted. And as The Handmaid's Tale taught me, our freedom lies in illogical, irreverent actions without any supervisor.

Where do I stand? Privacy is freedom, and I'd be naive and idealistic to argue against that. On the other hand, society can improve if we all share information! On the other hand, isn't that literally what communism is? On the other hand, it's encrypted!

And that's the end of Adriel's weekly rant without any conclusions. Please respond here with a photo of your passport and most recent text messages.

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