Better Computers but Death of Privacy

In late 2020's, mankind will experience different lifestyle in a more complicated world through computers. That's what this post is all about, our future with computers and the death of our privacy. Many people are still not aware of the near future so I am taking this chance to write the things I know about computers. We think that today we already have most awesome computers and stuffs but after you finish reading this blog post, your view of the near future will never be the same again.

To have a simple recap about computers, let's just say that the first computers were intended only for huge corporations and organizations both secretive and non-secretive. Then the second wave is (was) the time of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates that enabled ordinary people to lay hands on computers. Then the next wave is the future, which is what they called as wearable computing. The idea of wearable computing is that there is a huge bottleneck when we use our current computers or digital devices and that these bottlenecks should be get rid off. Why? If one wants to take a picture, one needs to pick up his/her camera, and if it is a smartphone, one also needs to fire up an app to take a photo. Picking up the device and stuffs are the bottleneck. If you need something, it should be very instantaneous. So, in the very essence of wearable computing, Instagram is not as Insta+ntaneous as what you think. What wearable computing can offer is Google's Project Glass. Just as seamless as you can take a photo while riding a bike.

Project Glass Photo Courtesy of Google

With Google Glass, yes you can just say Android devices are nothing. It's not just a replacement for a camera but a powerful computer that looks like ordinary glasses. And

But to be able to make the Project Glass successful, there is still a need to make a worldwide coverage of true Internet connectivity. The device should be connected to the Internet almost anytime and anywhere as possible. Google says that's not a problem and they got it covered. What I'm talking about is Google's Project Loon. It is a research project that will try to provide worldwide Internet connectivity by using balloons that circle Earth.

Project Loon Image Courtesy of Google

If you are probably wondering why Google does this, it is because Google gets most of their revenues are from their online advertising program called Adwords. So, by creating Google Glass they can bring the advertising industry into a whole new level again. Just like what they did on the Web. The advertising industry completely changed after Adwords became mainstream. That is the very reason why nowadays you can see a lot of vacant billboards in roads and city streets.

Anyway, in order for Google to utilize the data that they can gather from the Google Glasses and organize it to manipulate the data for advertising, they need to perform the thing in computer science called as Machine Learning. Machine Learning is one of the most complicated problems in the world. Basically it deals about teaching a machine (computer) about both tangible and intangible things around us. Yes it is a part of the Science of Artificial Intelligence. Now to be able to do that, one needs a super powerful computer. That is why Google launched the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory that houses a cutting edge Quantum Computer from D-Wave Systems.

Google tries to do this in order to profile the people on the Web. Why do you think Google created Google+? They are trying to create profiles so that they can do better merchandising of the products that they are advertising. Not only for their products but also for the products that they were tasked to advertise. The more they know about the people's lives, the more they can do targeted ads and earn more profit. It's just all about advertising. But the problem is Privacy. How are we so sure that the data about ourselves are in good hands?

Take note that in the middle of 2013, "a former CIA/NSA agent/contractor" whistleblower Edward Snowden shocked the world with his revelations about surveillance programs that abuse people's privacy.

Just to wrap all up. In the near future, someone who's just taking a glance of you using glasses can already compromise your privacy.