Google Glass
- Thread starter Stephen
- Start date
- Location
- Never Far From Nowhere
I feel that the technology is awesome. But I have some real issues with it. First, as stated, where does the data gathering stop? Yes, I consent to give Google (Facebook, RME, ect) my personal information. I do not give you, Mr./Mrs. Google Glass, consent to gather data on me while you walk around like a Borg recording everything that you see and sending it back to the hive. There are plenty of laws out there at various levels that restrict voice, photo and video recording of private citizens without their consent. Many are not enforced (look at YouTube for all sorts of violations), but they are there. Back when I was really into photography and entering competitions I would always ask people I photographed to sign consent form just to cover myself legally. I highly doubt that Google Glass wearers will be doing such. Additionally, with facial and voice recognition software getting better and better, when a Google Glass wearer spots you, now Google can figure out your habits just by crunching the data that they get from their worker bees. Yes, I'm sure that in whatever new and improved 10,000 page privacy policy that I recently signed to continue using GMail authorized Google to gather my data by any means they see fit, but what about that OAP out there that has never touched a computer? Does Google have the right to photograph them and hear about their colon problems in the cafe? Emphatically no!
Second, we are introducing a whole new level of dependency. I'm 30 and I grew up literally in the middle of the personal computer revolution. The first computer my family had was a Franklin Apple II Clone. Then a 386, 486, Pentium, PII, PIV, iMac, MacBook, ect, ect. I have an iPhone4 in my pocket while I type this. I love computers and the convenience that they add. But I have always tried to make a distinction between the "real" world, and the virtual. Yes, like most people I use Google Maps to find places. I have a Facebook page, even my own domain. But the point is, that when I step away from my computer or put my iPhone in my pocket you are no longer in the virtual world. With Google Glass, you are "augmenting" your reality. Literally, when you look ahead, Google Maps is overlapping the road ahead of you. Your Facebook, or email, or kiddie porn is constantly there in front of your face. If you think there are internet addicts now, just wait until they don't ever have to shut it down! Also, what is that zombie looking guy sitting across from you on TRAX doing? Can you imagine what it would be like, especially as a girl? Now that creep across from you leering no longer has to have your name to look you up. He can use facial recognition and be pulling up all sorts of personal info as he sits there staring at you. Yuck.
And if you think people are distracted now while driving (or biking, or hell, walking), just wait until Google Glass enters the mix! Yes, they won't have to look down to check their navigation systems screen, but what happens when that text message of Facebook photo tag pops up! Watch out!
Finally, what is the end game? We joke about this stuff being implanted eventually. But it’s not a joke. People ARE implanting device in their bodies now. Soon it will become more than just a macabre hobby, it'll become legitimate (along with genetic manipulations) to have your eyes replaced with some hopped up special sensors. It will also start a new class division. Google Glass costs $1500. Not astronomical, but still out of the reach of most consumers. So we start to see division of have and have nots. What happens when your kid at school has to compete with the Jones kid who has an implant or genetic manipulation that allows him quicker retrieval of data? Yes, this is all tin foil hat and my inner dystopia sci-fi nerd is coming out, but this stuff is being researched right now and is going to start being reality quicker than you think. In 5 years you'll be a Luddite if you don't have some sort of augmented reality device. In 10, if your kid doesn't have some sort of physical augmentation and in 30 years genetic manipulation will be standard in the well to do's.
And despite my love of technology, this coming world is starting to scare the hell out of me.
Second, we are introducing a whole new level of dependency. I'm 30 and I grew up literally in the middle of the personal computer revolution. The first computer my family had was a Franklin Apple II Clone. Then a 386, 486, Pentium, PII, PIV, iMac, MacBook, ect, ect. I have an iPhone4 in my pocket while I type this. I love computers and the convenience that they add. But I have always tried to make a distinction between the "real" world, and the virtual. Yes, like most people I use Google Maps to find places. I have a Facebook page, even my own domain. But the point is, that when I step away from my computer or put my iPhone in my pocket you are no longer in the virtual world. With Google Glass, you are "augmenting" your reality. Literally, when you look ahead, Google Maps is overlapping the road ahead of you. Your Facebook, or email, or kiddie porn is constantly there in front of your face. If you think there are internet addicts now, just wait until they don't ever have to shut it down! Also, what is that zombie looking guy sitting across from you on TRAX doing? Can you imagine what it would be like, especially as a girl? Now that creep across from you leering no longer has to have your name to look you up. He can use facial recognition and be pulling up all sorts of personal info as he sits there staring at you. Yuck.
And if you think people are distracted now while driving (or biking, or hell, walking), just wait until Google Glass enters the mix! Yes, they won't have to look down to check their navigation systems screen, but what happens when that text message of Facebook photo tag pops up! Watch out!
Finally, what is the end game? We joke about this stuff being implanted eventually. But it’s not a joke. People ARE implanting device in their bodies now. Soon it will become more than just a macabre hobby, it'll become legitimate (along with genetic manipulations) to have your eyes replaced with some hopped up special sensors. It will also start a new class division. Google Glass costs $1500. Not astronomical, but still out of the reach of most consumers. So we start to see division of have and have nots. What happens when your kid at school has to compete with the Jones kid who has an implant or genetic manipulation that allows him quicker retrieval of data? Yes, this is all tin foil hat and my inner dystopia sci-fi nerd is coming out, but this stuff is being researched right now and is going to start being reality quicker than you think. In 5 years you'll be a Luddite if you don't have some sort of augmented reality device. In 10, if your kid doesn't have some sort of physical augmentation and in 30 years genetic manipulation will be standard in the well to do's.
And despite my love of technology, this coming world is starting to scare the hell out of me.
- Location
- Stinkwater
Yup.
Creepy... I just think about how there will basically be a camera on us all the time. I don't like it. The lack of consent to be in other people's pics and videos is what bothers me. I'm not involved in social media (besides here of course) for a reason: it's dumb
Unimog
Eric
- Location
- Stansbury Park, UT
Its just a tool like any other. $1500 today means that in 10 years it will cost the equivalent of $20 - within the reach of everyone. It was the same with the walkman, then the iPod, then smart phone, then mifi, tablet, etc, etc, etc. We will work through the privacy issues, just as we are currently doing with smart phones and the acceptability of different uses today. Personally, I write software for a living, but I have a real life outside of that - hence my choice of vehicle and my lifestyle when 4-wheeling. Yes, I have a GPS and iPhone and use them occasionally, but my unimog will run indefinitely without any electrical components whatsoever. All of this expressed while I chat online with friends and read about everyone else's opinion on technology. How's that for hypocritical? 
Maverick
old-school
- Location
- Anywhere, thanks to my geeky droid
^^^^^^^ this.
I said it before and I will say it again...WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
You're afraid of someone taking your picture? I know a ton of guys on RME but none of them are hideously malformed freaks...mostly.
Why do people object to being in the pictures of strangers?
And to Stephen...I cannot wait for EVERY SINGLE THING you fear in your post. I cannot wait to be augmented physically and genetically perfected. That is the progress of humanity, to become more than the result of millions of years of evolution. Our evolution is a technology evolution.
If the future of amazing technology is staring you (literally) in the face and you are scared then I feel sorry for you.
You're afraid of someone taking your picture? I know a ton of guys on RME but none of them are hideously malformed freaks...mostly.
Why do people object to being in the pictures of strangers?
And to Stephen...I cannot wait for EVERY SINGLE THING you fear in your post. I cannot wait to be augmented physically and genetically perfected. That is the progress of humanity, to become more than the result of millions of years of evolution. Our evolution is a technology evolution.
If the future of amazing technology is staring you (literally) in the face and you are scared then I feel sorry for you.
Spork
Tin Foil Hat Equipped
- Location
- Saratoga Springs, UT
Do I have to be afraid of something to not like google glass? Maybe I don't want to be augmented more than I currently am. Maybe I think it's just another version of the bluetooth headset that everyone and their dog was wearing 5 years ago. Maybe I'm just bitter they are killing Google Reader.
I guess Hitler and I share similar views to Google glass...
[video=youtube;A25VgNZDQ08]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A25VgNZDQ08[/video]
Not at all...there are a lot of differing opinions in this thread ranging from simply not liking the tech to outright fear. I totally understand not liking a thing...but fearing a thing is a whole different story.
Your words reveal you...as do mine. Why is it creepy? Why does it bother you? You are being filmed and photographed any time you take a drive down the street, walk through the mall, visit an ATM, or walk through disneyland. Your perception of privacy is not the actuality of privacy. Everything you do outside of the bathroom is no longer "Private"...and if you take your phone in the bathroom with you and play angry birds then guess what...no privacy.
Let's take the example of bathroom privacy and how you can be tracked. We give permissions to every app that we download to smartphones and some of these apps, even those that have nothing to do with maps or navigation can see your exact location. You may say to yourself that they can't get your EXACT location but they can get close even in a building that blocks GPS becaue they can triangulate with WIFI and cell phone towers. If you fire up an app while you are having your morning deuce then you might have just disclosed the location, time, and duration of your morning crap to a potential marketer. This information is then shared, databased, and utilized to learn more about the habits of a particular segment of society to better serve you ads. Does this sound a bit extreme? Yep. Might it be going on as we speak? Yep. Do I give a damn? Nope.
- Location
- Never Far From Nowhere
I'm fascinated by the technology, and used correctly, doesn't scare me one bit. I fear that people will use it in ways that are bad for humanity as a whole. And if you feel so insecure with yourself (which really is the root issue with people who want to augment themselves), then I say go for it if it'll help you feel better about yourself. Personally, I'm perfectly happy with who I am. Our flaws and frailty should be celebrated as what makes us unique. That is what makes us human, after all, our individuality.
It's creepy because I think privacy is neat. I realize that the world we live in is not really private anymore and I can deal with that. Does that mean that I have to agree with every technological upgrade that infringes upon said privacy? I don't think so.
You obviously care about this a whole lot more than I do... I guess I shouldn't have posted in the first place
You obviously care about this a whole lot more than I do... I guess I shouldn't have posted in the first place
Stephen...that was too easy buddy...
So when someone goes blind you think we should celebrate that flaw because that is human...because that person is unique? What about someone with a bad heart, liver, knee, hip, etc... Those are all things we can address with augmentations. My dad has Macular Degeneration and I would sure like to see him get some robot eyes before he dies so he can ride his motorcycle like he used to.
Humanity is insecure with itself. We are clever creatures, the most clever creatures we are aware of on the planet, and we have the imagination and technology to find ways to make our lives better. When we master genetics we can address genetic flaws that we all carry. When we master prosthetics we can give masterful limbs back to soldiers injured in combat. When we master electronics we can give everyone the information they desire in the form factor they prefer with greater efficiency.
We do not celebrate flaws in humanity. If your car is flawed you fix it. If your fender is smashed you replace it. If your stove breaks or doesn't perform up to your expectations you replace it. We are the species that fixes things we perceive as broken. If you don't want it fixed you don't have to. celebrate your individuality from your wheelchair when you are old and grey...I want to live forever.
No no no...I don't want to give the impression that your input is unwelcome! You have just as much right to speak up as I do. I value your input because I get to learn how other people think and feel on the subject. I'm just trying to get at the root of it all. Please don't take my wordy responses as aggression towards you personally.
- Location
- Never Far From Nowhere
Being "perfectly happy" with who you are and having the desire to make oneself perfect is entirely different. You know that.
I knew you'd go here. Yes, the advancements in medication and technology to help those with serious ailments is an area that I will conceed. My aunt has Stargardt disease. Sure would be nice for her to be able to see again too. But why does someone with 20/20 vision need to augment their vision so they can look into my sisters bedroom from 500 yards away? They don't. Bad heart, bad liver, hip, back, sure! Fix it. Thats the key, fix.
But my issue, as stated before, is what happens when the Jones kid gets to have all his genes sorted out, hawkeye vision, added lung capacity and nifty cool purple hair while little Timmy gets to be a "normal" because his parents don't have the means to to pay for all that? Timmy is now at a massive disadvantage and will be for life. You made the statement before that prices will come down. Maybe. But I still don't have a Gulfstream or a Koenigsegg. Probably never will. and they've been around for awhile. Additionally, what happens if Timmy can aford this stuff, but its 10 years after the Jones kid? Timmy's still ****ed.
Perhaps this can be boiled down to a difference of viewpoint. You're seeing Utopia, while I'm seeing Dystopia. I do not trust people, governments or companies to do the "right" thing with this technology. I, unfortunately, feel that if it is not reigned in soon this technology will be used by the privleged few to exploit the many. I wish I didn't feel that way, but with recent history as our guide, its not looking so good. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong.
Yes we do. Literature, music, movies are full of it.
Again, the key word is fix. I'm sure your next argument is that we are all broken in some way. And you know what, you're probably right. But where is the line?
I can't remember where this quote is from, but I've always remembered it.
"You can live forever, but you will be forgotten. Because unless you make something of yourself, no one will care if you're 10 years old or a thousand. Make your mark on this world and move on. Live a full life. THAT is the key, son. Don't plan on living forever, because even if you could, its what you do here and now that matters. Not tomorrow or the next day. Today."
And of course, Who Wants to Live Forever?
[video=youtube;_Jtpf8N5IDE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jtpf8N5IDE[/video]
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What happens when the Jones' kids get that new electronic calculator and his classmates are stuck using a pencil and paper? What happens when the Jones' kids gets those new basketball shoes from Nike when everyone else has to use old hand-me-down Chuck Taylors? Timmy's parents are part of humanity and some people are better off than others...this is called social evolution. In society as in nature, some are better suited to surpass others. Evolve or get left, quite literally, in the dust.
If a parent's ineptitude to provide for their family has left their children at a disadvantage then maybe that parent ought not to have kids. The rhetoric you are espousing sounds a bit like socialism..."My family is poor so your affluent family should not be allowed technology that would better them or enrich their life experience!" I don't have my Italian super car because I haven't worked hard enough and that is the plain and simple truth. I am personally responsible for my existence and I do not loathe others for their successes...there was something in your religious documents about coveting another's possessions was there not? It works the same way if you think your neighbor or his kids shouldn't have a possession because it is somehow "unfair".
Technology is a part of evolution. We, as human beings, are evolving and technology is how we move past mother nature and take our collective destiny into our own hands. We are all individually responsible for our future.
Reigned in? You mean some entity should step in and curb this....you mean like GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION? Humanity as individuals will decide how they want to participate in the future. You don't have to wear some fancy glasses a corporation puts out. You will be at the mercy of those using the tools to "get ahead" in life though.
You are using the same argument that unions used when robots went into factories and replaced dozens of "craftsmen". Your same argument is used by members of religious sects who refuse medical treatments because some old fool told them not to resulting in their untimely deaths. These examples are extreme but stand directly in the way of progress.
Humans are broken. Our joints wear out too soon. Our DNA degrades too quickly as it replicates itself. Our eyes blur as we age along with our brains.
I view Utopian futures because I am an optimist. I see humanity, as many do in the scientific community, as a species in infancy destined for the stars. We have a beautiful future that ideally would be free from those that would stand in the way of progress. We will either muddle around the planet pitching ridiculous wars over resources disguised as silly religious quarrels or we will get out sh!t together and leave this planet.
We live in a beautiful age. The definitions of society are changing under our feet and it is simultaneously beautiful and messy. It is beautiful because we are embracing new ideas for the betterment of society and it is messy because humans stuck firmly in old and decrepit paradigms are holding us back.
We no longer walk because we found the wheel which I'm sure had it detractors at the time. We went to the moon despite harsh criticisms from local and national clergy whom thought it impossible and against god's will.
We are moving forward. Evolve or die.
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Spork
Tin Foil Hat Equipped
- Location
- Saratoga Springs, UT
