Surveillance For the Benefit of the End User
The other day I was on Facebook when an unfamiliar ad appeared on my feed. It was for a camcorder. I was truly perplexed, as I am not in the market for a new camera, I have not visited any shopping site for cameras, and I have not had even the slightest thought about buying a new camera.
From a perspective outside our modern culture, it would be astonishing that I would be put off by an irrelevant ad. My reaction shows the efficiency and accuracy of modern ad campaigns. When I voiced my concern about the camcorder ad to my husband, he replied, “You said you wanted to make a documentary.”
As many of these anecdotes go, I had not said that I wanted to make a documentary while streaming or recording. I had simply said it in a live conversation near my phone. With a couple more degrees of unease, I did what we all do, I continued with my life.
Every user of social media has similar stories. We know that we are being watched and catered to, but no one has outright admitted doing it. There is no disclosure or control of the surveillance technology that is being used against us — or, is it more accurately, “used to help us”?
After all, if I do decide to make a documentary, wouldn’t it be a good idea to think about a new camera? Don’t I appreciate unicorn-shaped makeup brushes and rainbow clothes on my feed? Isn’t it convenient to have my needs and preferences catered to by algorithms and data?
The answer is yes, I do appreciate a selective experience online. I do like when what I’m looking for is right at the top. And though I personally never appreciate advertising (advertise? avert your eyes!) I can see the appeal for some people to have ads which are designed for them.
But this surveillance is NOT for the benefit of the end user!
While there are some minor bonuses for the consumer, ultimately our data is bought and sold at the cost of our privacy. It is at the very least, a tool for advertisers to create profit and at the most, a tool for government control.
We are entrenched in a capitalist system based on GREED. While we are culturally motivated by GREED, we will never have truly beneficial or harmonious system or society.
The alternative of greed is sharing. There is a universal truth that we are ALL ONE. In UNICULT we say None Can Thrive While Any Other Suffers. We live in a closed-loop system, both on Earth as a rock in space and psychically within the collective un/consciousness. If you put a drop of poison into a bucket of water, it affects the whole bucket. We are in a similar situation here on Earth and with one another. Greed is a detrimental way of being and it affects us all. It does not need to exist.
This is confusing because of how deeply we are entrenched in this thinking as a culture. We believe by greed and taking, we get more. But that is a mistake. In cultures of taking there is less and ideas of lack. In cultures of sharing there is abundance and security. We have enough resources on this planet to all be fulfilled and happy.
In UNICULT we have a section called UNIDATA: Data collection for the benefit of the end user. The potential benefits of tracking individuals and giving them their data in easy-to-understand formats is already being understood by biometric collection companies like Fitbit. The potentials for this technology are only just beginning to be tapped into. For instance, as someone with a uterus, I am deeply connected to the cycles of my body and the moon. I also have cyclical moods both attached to these hormonal changes and attached to some other force I have not yet recognized. The monitoring and collection of these moods through advanced technology will help me see, expect, anticipate, and work through repetitive emotions and moods that I face inside my mind. People with mental disorders should have access to their data and specialized tools around it to help them with whatever debilitating cycles they go through.
The future of technology relies on the collection of our data. The Internet of Things relies on constant sensing, patterns, and anticipation of the consumer. We can have a system which is both ingrained and respectful, observant and healthy.These ideas are just the beginning of the potentials for surveillance for the benefit of the end user.
In order for us to make this shift, we must move out of a greed-based system and into a culture of sharing. This means that we as individuals can begin to analyze our behaviors and judgments and open our minds to a culture of kindness and care for one another. Corporations and companies are having a slow go at this, no matter how much backlash there appears to be, certain institutions continue to abuse their demographics. This will not always be the case.
In the meantime, lead yourself with love and dignity and let it reach your work, your relationships, and your creations. The light of the work that you do will reach and ripple out. Your JOY and compassion will affect every aspect of your life and therefore the world.
Trust in these words. Join UNICULT.
