Final Blog

The main premise of this blog was to explore how technology has changed privacy. There are two themes prevalent throughout all the former postings. Lack of knowledge or secrecy and an institution with vested interest in maximal knowledge about you. In all the instances I've examined there has been a larger and powerful institution yearning to discover more about you. Whether it's with an eye to prosecute you, protect you, control you, or save your life, there is an organization that wants to dig deeper and discover more.

This isn't a new concept, knowledge is priceless and always has been. However, with the development of increasingly better or more powerful technology it has become increasingly easier and tempting to push the boundaries. Even when the technology isn't intended for monitoring or surveillance. As long as the technology grants access to information that was previously incomplete or inaccessible it will be utilized. During the Cold War it would have been impossible to tap and monitor all forms of communication, let alone having the capability to do so with the entire population. I would guess if such technology was available though, they would have used it in a heart beat. Privacy has all but vanished today. What little is left is quickly diminishing. The progression of more knowledge and less privacy is being fueled by technology.

After researching for this blog I had an epiphany. Although technology is the soul of privacy loss, secrecy is at the heart of the problem. These institutions keep what they're doing out of the public eye. Americans, especially so, have fierce views on liberty and a right to privacy. There would be an absolute uproar if these issues I explored earlier were stated plainly to the general public. Which is obviously why they are not. Technology cannot be reversed and will always push forward. As individuals and a population as a whole we should be looking to technology as the institutions are. How can technology be used to monitor them? How can technology secure more privacy for ourselves? What legislation should we push to secure our right to do so before that vanishes as well. Most importantly when we read about a new invention, innovation or even standard piece of technology we shouldn't be taking it at face value. If it's capable of offering more information it is of value to someone somewhere. Be alert to that.