The first time I read my Long Read, “Smart Talking: Are Our Devices Threatening Our Privacy” by James Vlahos, encapsulating the terrifying idea that our electronic devices are always listening, I didn’t think much of it. I came to terms with the fact that we are always somehow being watched, and that if that surveillance could somehow protect us, what’s so bad about it. I also felt that in our society privacy doesn’t exist, but it does, and we shouldn’t feel that way. When reading this article I wanted to get the opinions of friends and family and they completely changed this “whatever” mentality. I contemplated this topic a lot and then came to the realization that these devices shouldn’t be allowed to record our conversations, even if it is for appropriate circumstances. Normalizing this will allow even more of our privacy to be taken from us. What's even more unsettling about this topic is that many of these devices are easily hacked which gives hackers complete access to those hidden voice files. Many people know they are being watched and listened to, yet they do nothing about it. Are you scared of your private information being released? Are you aware that your phone is always listening due to “Siri” or “Google?” Does privacy exist?
I'd say that yes we do have privacy, however we do not have privacy all the time. Anything can be done with "hacking" online. Anyone can have access to your phone's camera or microphone whenever they want. Same goes to your computer's webcam, anyone can have access to that. But think about it this way, why would a highly skilled hacker want to "hack" into my phone or my computer to access my webcam or microphone? The chances of that are honestly very low unless you've started drama with the wrong people online.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Chris, I also believe that we have privacy, until someone hacks your phone or computer. If someone hacked into my phone or computer, I wouldn't be too worried because I have nothing to hide, yes I may have some important info, but I definitely don't have anything to hide. Well, beside embarrassing photos of me, and in that case it would be pretty funny. If Google and Siri are listening to me then they would be wasting their time, because there is no reason for them to listen in on me. In the end, I do believe privacy exists, but once someone seeks something worth hacking for, then that privacy disappears.
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