Privacy is over. It’s an outdated concept that no longer applies in modern society.
With the proliferation of persistent data tracking from the internet, cell phones, smart home devices, digitally connected cars, web browser cookies, “personalized marketing preferences”, shared databases, insurance companies and hackers, your personal information has been compromised, sold, distributed and published ad infinitum.
Now, think about the additional data gathered by internet-connected traffic cams, doorbell cameras, cell phone videos, social media and apps all sucked into powerful AI systems.
Add in government data sources like TSA Precheck & Clear, online real-estate & tax records, credit reports and credit card histories.
Very little about you or me or anyone is private anymore.
Certainly much less is private than we think.
Years ago, I interviewed for a job with a credit bureau and learned that for as little as 25 cents, anyone could purchase a history of every credit card transaction, loan application, debt, credit history, and nearly every purchase I ever made.
I couldn’t believe how much information was available about me for a quarter!
Today, we can multiply that by 1000 given all the data sources I listed above.
I used to comfort myself by thinking, “I don’t do anything illegal or noteworthy so nobody is going to care enough about me to intentionally violate my privacy.”
Then later I thought, “There’s so much data about so many people that nobody will be bother tracking me. I’m just one inconsequential person in a world of billions.”
In recent years I comforted myself reasoning, “They might know my cell phone location, and marketing preferences but my thoughts are my own.”
Since then I’ve been told that some of the best algorithms can guess what we’re thinking. how we are likely to act, what illnesses we have and much more based on aggregated data. They might not “know” our thoughts, but they can make accurate predictions in many cases.
So this week when I listened to a podcast about an AI dystopian future where those in control could know everything about you, it occurred to me, that “they” already do.
I’m not the least bit worried about privacy – it doesn’t exist anymore. All the laws, handwringing, “rights” and bemoaning this doesn’t change the fact that it’s an antiquated concept that no longer applies to us.