Trends in England?

Trends of the times in England?

When we think of cutting edge technology we tend to expect "immediate satisfaction" from the knowledge, use or exploit of anything or everything that is the latest, the greatest or the newest, the day it comes out. 

It is sometimes, in contrast with "bleeding technology" which is so new that the technological device,technique or achievement, could have a high risk of being unreliable, not fully tested, lack of consensus,or the costs and benefits of application or use, needs justification or verification.It may be the state of the art innovation, but it could imply more scrutiny.

One thing that is in the news is identity recognition. We had finger prints,signature and  handwriting identification,blood samples,voice recognition, biometric iris scan and the latest and most recent is  facial recognition.

Maslow's Identity of Needs

Beyond the basic need for a sense of control, we are driven by our sense of identity, of who we are.As Descartes,the philosopher said : "I think,therefore,I am", or as Abraham Maslow,the psychologist defined as above, as "a hierarchy of needs".

We generally act either to support or  threaten our sense of identity?

Without delving into philosophy, psychology or sociological investigation, we can see what is happening before our very eyes. 

We see the cutting edge technology of "smart sockets" allows one to use the mobile phone to turn on their living quarters, their home, by among other things controlling their mood, their lights and appliances,from anywhere they are in the world.  

In England and perhaps elsewhere, we notice more and more Cutting Edge technology taking over "our God given freedoms". As a surveillance technique it is ubiquitous, but is still a political, legal and ethical conundrum.

Read what facial recognition can do? Can you see why it is a fad to have "selfies" taken? We must be naive to follow the crowd.

The latest news on "The Guardian" UK states:

"It is there on Facebook,tagging photos from class reunions, your cousin's wedding and the office summer party.Google, Microsoft, Apple and others have built it into "apps" to compile albums of people who hang out together. It verifies who you are at airports and is the latest biometric to unlock your mobile phone where facial recognition apps abound. Need to confirm your identity for a £1,000 bank transfer? Just look into the camera"

"New applications crop up all the time. Want to know who's at the door? A video doorbell with facial recognition will tell you, provided you've uploaded a photo of the person's face. Other systems are used to spot missing persons and catch slackers who lie about the hours they spend in the office. Advertisers, of course, are in on the act. Thanks to facial recognition, billboards can now serve up ads based on an estimate of your sex, age and mood."

My own experience

 If this sounds Big Brother, read on: my computer was flooding me with scam, of email pictures of young women wanting to meet me, wanting to have fun, wanting everything which they think I had under the sun.I kept on deleting it and the more I deleted it without opening, the more it came into my "In Box". They must be thinking that I have what they want? They hardly knew that 

I was "two years younger than Big Brother upstairs?."

Was it all? When they stopped pestering me, intimidating me,harassing me, I got spam emails from Late Nelson Mandela's widow or so the email said, that she did not know what to do with the millions bequeathed to her and wanted to share it with me?. I thought to myself, that I was a very lucky man, immediately deleted it without response. Is it difficult to guess,who is behind these antics?

What is the lesson?

Can you recognise why email addresses are often touted for every ad and why email addresses are sold like hot cakes?  Someone is making money out of all the various forms of identity verification? 

There is "iris scan recognition", which is an automated method of biometric identification. This innovation used mathematical pattern recognition techniques,even algorithms of video images of one or both of the irises of an individual's eyes,whose complex patterns are unique, stable and can be seen from some distance.It may also be called "retina scanning, which uses unique patterns on a person's retina blood vessels. There is also eye vetting verification that uses "scaleral views."

Can you now recognise why "make-up" or touch up has gone out of fashion? There are talent scouts for TV companies who seek people with blemishes. Human nature as it is looks out for imperfections. Disabled people are used to read out weather forecasts, perhaps as a distraction for mood manipulation? Charities print images of starving children to collect money?

Where's the ethics in today's living? 

Security equipment is a boon as well as a infringement on personal liberty.Personal liberty which is proclaimed from house tops, has become a sham?
 

Security is essential for living, but what use is it being put to for monetary consideration, for unscruplous business?

How can ordinary people take control of the environment in which they live? I don't mean the "climate change," but living secure without Big Brother monitoring not only life in their daylight hours but also sleep patterns? You may think all this is in the realm of possibilities?

Victor Cherubim