We had a choice between technology and privacy... We chose technology.

[reformist2]

Anyone up in arms over the latest revelations really has no imagination. We can pretend to be shocked, but the truth is, anyone with half a brain has to know everything we've said over electronic devices has been recorded into a database, for years. But we talk on our cell phones, and type out e-mails anyway, because the alternative - going off the grid - is unthinkable.

[Democracyinkind]

1. As if it was a dichotomy

We could have both. Granted, it would take a different congress, a different administration, and a different electorate. But it's not unthinkable. It only becomes so if we presume that we are hostages to the Corporations and Governments and to their interests. Used to be this wicked idea that we could make them our hostages.

[randome]

2. I honestly think most people -especially the younger generations- don't care.

I'm not that young but it doesn't bother me in the slightest that Verizon -which already keeps records on my phone usage- might turn that info over to the government.

In the Internet Age, expectations of privacy have changed from what they were.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[Democracyinkind]

3. Oh I agree. Generally, we do not care.

It's just that in my eyes, this reinforces the notion that it is a choice that is ultimately up to us. We could have technology and privacy all at once. Collectively, we're just not interested in it.

[randome]

7. We could have near zero unemployment, too. Hell, we could have Utopia on Earth if we truly wanted.

I wish the human species was not so self-destructive and self-absorbed.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[Bosso 63]

12. Off topic

Awesome tag line, I want that on a t-shirt.

As to your comment, I'd say fear and greed are at the root of our self absorption/destruction.

[reformist2]

4. No, we can't have both.

Theoretically, we can have privacy in the brave new world of high-tech communication.

But realistically? Sorry, no chance in hell.

[Democracyinkind]

5. I disagree.

It is a question of civic vs. corporate and governmental interest. Only because our society shamelessly accepts the latter as "natural" and the former as "optional" does it seem impossible.

And yes, I agree that privacy in technology can always be overcome. A determined hacker will always get what he wants. This does not negate my argument. Philosophically speaking, this is argument is just a modulation of the arument from amoralism in ethics. I don't think this negates the first sentence in this post.

[The2ndWheel]

13. Not going to have only the best of both worlds

You can bake a cake, and then eat it, but you won't not gain weight. You can have eggs, flower, and milk, but when you put them all in a bowl and start stirring, you can't take out the eggs anymore and put them on the side.

We have both technology and privacy. Once they start mixing together, that's where things get messy.

[LAGC]

6. Bullshit.

Technology also brought us cryptography and anonymous networks.

We can have our cake and eat it too, it just takes a bit more effort.

As these revelations about government snooping intensify, you can bet more and more people will adapt and utilize technology to better cover their tracks.

[Skidmore]

8. Cryptography and anonymous networks? Ha!

It brought hackers of the common criminal variety, international spies, and the sanctified Anonymous and Wikileaks type too. Everybody is in everyone else's business all the time now. It's a clear indication that people have idle hands and few scruples.

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

9. Unfortunately a lot of people have made that choice in a state of ignorance.

[reformist2]

10. At least we can say they're not ignorant anymore.

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

14. Well, I'd say that one potential excuse for ignorance has been removed.

But there are people who insist on remaining ignorant, of present reality and of history.

[Bragi]

11. Fear won, not technology

Americans have knowingly chosen the illusion of safety over even the idea of civil liberties. The fearmongers won. Technology is their friend.

[me b zola]

15. What a crappy argument

Either or. Black or white.

I am often viewed on this board as anti-technology because I discuss the issues surrounding technology, but I am anything but anti-tech. As our knowledge evolves we must as a (global) people consider its uses and implications. Bah...