Big data is watching you. is it normal?

13 Comments

A decade ago, the NSA (National Security Agency) started monitoring world telecommunications and internet traffic to find international terrorists. But now multi-national corporations are in the game, mining data from huge databases with software so high powered, it can accurately predict if you are headed for a divorce.

Is this a clear and present danger to our freedom? Citizens of the world, tally your votes.

It can't be avoided, it's the downside of technology. 16
Taunt these corporations with misinformation about yourself. 14
Over-hyped. Data mining is worthless guesswork. 9
A phoney conspiracy theory. It can never happen 2
Fear the machine. Totalitarianism lurks. 11
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Comments ( 13 )
  • dom180
    11 years ago

    If you seriously believe they are monitoring you personally you are a narcissist. 99% of that data will never even be seen by human eyes, and your data is no different. There's just too much of it; it'll just go onto a system and never been seen again.

    I believe the same laws and morals should be applied to the internet as "real life". People can legally and morally collect information about me in real life (people do it all the time even if they don't realise it), so they can legally and morally collect information about me online too.

    They can have all my data if they want. Seriously, they can have it (whoever they are). What are they going to do that is so bad, advertise to me? Forgive me for not caring. So long as they can't commit ID fraud I'm not bothered.

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    • [Old Memory]
      11 years ago

      "If you seriously believe they are monitoring you personally you are a narcissist. 99% of that data will never even be seen by human eyes"

      This is true, paint it blue, step in poo, how are you, booger stew, cows go mooooooo

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      • robbieforgotpw
        11 years ago

        How is booger stew?

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  • dappled
    11 years ago

    It's a concern for me, yes, but the question you asked is whether it is a danger to freedom. Taking the question absolutely literally, yes, it is a danger to some freedoms.

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  • megadriver
    10 years ago

    Hello NSA agents! Nice to meet you! I am an evil (german) genius, who has built a robotic T-rex with nukes and will take over the word! Then I will create a new dinosaur age! And I will rule over all dinosaurs...

    There! You happy now? I'm evil, take me to Alcatraz!:D

    Honnestly, I don't care if NSA are listening. They are not going to get a very interesting movie plot from my phone. Or my laptop. They will get a ton of jokes, but no master plan to conquer the US :D

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  • 1000yrVampireKing
    11 years ago

    Believe the term was "Big brother".

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    • dude_Jones
      11 years ago

      Big Data is a corporate term. The NSA is Big Brother.

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  • NiceKitty
    11 years ago

    They are slowly trying to get deeper and deeper into our business due to 'national security'
    Bull shit.
    Slowly but surely we are being herded like cattle into a slaughter house.
    We are the sheep, they are the Shepard.

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  • cigs
    11 years ago

    yes they are but not people like me

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  • myownopinions
    11 years ago

    On a scale between 1-10 of how much of a national security risk I am, I would probably be a -2. Therefore, I really don't care 'cause it doesn't effect me.

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  • [Old Memory]
    11 years ago

    ...

    As a civilian I have no care whether my phones, internet, and anything else is tapped/monitored by the government. Don't you understand that they can only employ so many to watch?

    You'd need a nation of analysts to monitor a nation of citizen. It's an impossibility. The monitoring is for the few bad apples who may prove to be dangerous. Or already are.

    They'd have no idea what you were doing unless you caught their eye for some reason. For all intents and purposes you would be as you are now: Anonymous and private.

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    • robbieforgotpw
      11 years ago

      Is it intensive purposes or intents and purposes?

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    • dude_Jones
      11 years ago

      Sorry sir, I vehemently disagree. NSA voice recognition processors comb the world phone networks, internet, and all communication lines for military words, and anything pertaining to nuclear physics or chemistry. They trace all international financial transactions, and track all air travelers all over the world. It's done with smart software.

      Does your kid tell his friends that the old car he bought is a "bomb"? NSA computers raise his threat level slightly above zero. Human analysts work only the high threat cases.

      Be blissfully ignorant if you want, but a few of your freedoms have been compromised to make the world a safer place.

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