How much Freedom are We Willing to Give up to Feel Secure?
A Glimpse into the Future—The End of Secrets: Discussing the implications of living in a technologically advanced society where privacy no longer exists
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Technology has caused our lives to be recorded, tracked, and categorized by mechanisms that could never truly know us. A century from now we might find ourselves ensnared within the clutches of an all-pervading surveillance state, like the nightmare depicted in George Orwell's novel “1984”.
We trade in individual freedom to be a part of a society. In turn, a healthy society is supposed to protect its people in exchange for their cooperation. The government is responsible for maintaining social order and keeping as many people safe as possible, and in exchange, there are rules people have to follow in order to stay a part of society.
The government does not want people to know about the gradual erosion of their rights through the various forms that surveillance can take. But maybe Orwell did not get the whole picture. Maybe there is an upside to an all-encompassing surveillance state.
We live in a data-driven world where that data is being packaged, sold, and weaved into digital vignettes of who we are. If our world became like Orwell’s vision of the future, then there is a chance people could prefer the security, protection and safety of that. This future could help us quickly deal with issues like pandemics more efficiently.
In a surveillance state, certain crimes vanish. Less than a hundred years from now, we could live in a world with a level of crime reduction that is difficult to imagine. Everything would be recorded, checked and saved. Bribery, child and domestic abuse, police brutality and employee mistreatment would be almost impossible. This would be the end to conflicts that boil down to one person’s word against another's. There would be a recording of everything that would exist forever.
A world controlled by surveillance would have no secrets, no hidden attacks and no privacy. Crimes outside of those of passion, in the moment, become unthinkable. We might not need armed police patrolling our streets. This future world would have no secrets, no hidden attacks. No privacy.
Lying becomes impossible. We would not need to fear people who want to harm others because they would be caught.
What is the cost of all these so-called benefits? A loss of individual freedom in exchange for security the way it's been for most societies in history. How much freedom are you willing to sacrifice to be safe from outside threats? How much privacy are you willing to give up for security? How much freedom are we willing to give up to feel secure?
Because of technology, the more we share about ourselves, the less private our lives become. Maybe in a hundred years, privacy will not exist. Maybe a hundred years from now nobody will have anything to hide.
Strike out,
Njoumie Price-Richardson
Editor: Kennedy Moran
Athens