Eyes and ears inside the home
THE grim reality of supposedly 'smart' technology is rather daunting if introduced overnight, especially that 'trendy' technology with misleading names and labels. They come up with lots of brands and dishonest descriptions (e.g. "assistant") to push these things into more and more homes. In some countries it's gradually becoming impossible to receive gas and electricity without having a so-called 'smart' meter (in effect somebody else's device connected to one's home network, collecting data with a bunch of sensors attached to objects inside the home).
"In some countries it's gradually becoming impossible to receive gas and electricity without having a so-called 'smart' meter (in effect somebody else's device connected to one's home network, collecting data with a bunch of sensors attached to objects inside the home)."For over a decade we've been warning about back doors and eavesdropping -- an issue acknowledged by rather rare and few individuals at the time (a suppressed subject in mainstream media, which does not strive to inform but to empower the state and oligarchs connected it). Prior to Snowden's NSA leaks we probably lacked a sufficient amount of hard evidence; instead we relied on people with (indirect and/or former) access to spies and spying agencies/networks. They spoke about this, some published books about the subject, but they didn't bring out documents to prove it. It's likely that publication of such documents would have had them legally prosecuted, maybe even relying on exile/asylum in Russia just to avoid prison (Snowden would face imprisonment if he returned to the US, as revealed last month in the Julian Assange extradition case in London).
If technology was (still) meant to serve users rather than oppress users, it wouldn't have gone in this Orwellian direction. But we very well know that technology is evolving along the lines of social control rather then social liberation. It's being designed and refined along the lines of seed funding from the military (or arms of the imperialism-serving apparatus, typically 5-Eyes). In China the technology firms are closely connected to the regime, whereas in the West this relationship is more cleverly disguised and each big company pretends that it's protecting our privacy while valuing our security. People are promoted (moving up the career ladder) based on their ability to lie to us about it... with a straight face.
"If technology was (still) meant to serve users rather than oppress users, it wouldn't have gone in this Orwellian direction."The same NSA chief whom Snowden exposed (Keith Alexander) was recently added to Amazon's Board of Directors. They're not even subtle about those sorts of things anymore. Might as well rebrand Amazon and change its logo to something with a missile and imperial eagles. As for Microsoft, people have a rough idea what it has always been up to. It's literally being run by a bunch of thugs and criminals who grin at us.
I've long made a very simple and candid observation: if Microsoft vanished, we'd still have problems. If Windows had sub-1% market share, we'd still lack freedom. The seed funding would still be funnelled into companies that combat human dignity to empower those who control the state (in the West that's typically oligarchs, who amassed in personal wealth almost as much as the whole national debt, rendering it merely a passage of wealth, not an unavoidable deficit). It ought not be so shocking that Bill Gates was a supremely close friend of a sex trafficking bankster who offered young girls even to our so-called 'royal' family. We should not be surprised that the corporate media no longer seems to care about that; instead, in exchange for money from Gates, it's promoting companies he is investing in (for profit) while (mis)treating him like a vaccine guru without disclosing that he's actually a vaccine profiteer.
"The idea of having something called "smart" or "assistant" inside the home may seem alluring on the surface (it's a superficiality targeting insecure and gullible people)."Social control can be attained in all sorts of ways, including blackmail. Mass surveillance is a 'dirt-digging' expedition that makes more and more people potential victims of blackmail, either by peer (e.g. partner) or by the state, or both. That sort of blackmail was demonstrated, for instance, when MLK was recorded having sex (it's nowadays known as SEXINT). The FBI, which treated him like enemy of the state, then used those for extortion (an apparent attempt to kill MLK). In a similar fashion the state can leverage information to control (by deterrence if not public shaming) those who are relatively powerful, including the so-called 'royal' family. It's an instrument of control and the more they know (better to also have evidence of, e.g. video, audio or both), the more they can manipulate people. Those can be politicians, entertainers, high-profile athletes, philosophers and so on.
The idea of having something called "smart" or "assistant" inside the home may seem alluring on the surface (it's a superficiality targeting insecure and gullible people). If received as a "gift", it might be hard to reject it because it can offend the buyer and/or feel like a wasted product. The Web is constantly being spammed with paid-for 'articles' for/by companies that sell such devices; they tell people that they need one or urge people to buy such devices for a "loved one". We're being brainwashed/indoctrinated/conditioned to believe that many people actually want these and would appreciate those things as a "gift". If rejected and passed on to another person (not the original recipient), these devices would then harm someone else, potentially along with tenants who share the same household. So the only solution is to put an end to manufacturing and advertising of such malicious things, which truly empower only those who deserve no power (they cannot be trusted; they're on ego trips). Like that aforementioned Amazon Board of Directors with Keith Alexander inside it. He used to work for banks after his abuses inside the NSA were exposed. Big Brother, Big Banks... Big Money. He now works for Jeff Bezos. Big shot!
With Christmas a couple of months away and people remotely communicating with friends and family ("Winter is Coming" means overcrowded hospitals are imminent) there will be this temptation to buy so-called 'smart' things, which are spying devices (or "bugs") wrapped up in cheap festive paper, a carton box and lots of plastics with a computer chip at the heart of it, ready to connect to the local network or to another device perpetually connected to the local network.
Big Brother is waiting. It's listening. If it's not listening (yet), then it's waiting for you to buy more 'smart' devices, either for yourself or for somebody else. ⬆
Screenshot sources: What are ‘Smart’ Meters? | Is your smart meter spying on you?