Big Brother, a step nearer

George Orwell’s Big Brother, a fictional insight into the future or a self proclaiming prophecy.

Just how invasive is this idea by Wallmart, apparently they will not collect personal data, hmmm, BS springs to mind.

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I would remove fictional from your description.

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Orwell was heavy going, but compared to Dickens, more contemporary, both part of my English Lit studies.

Though a reasonable yarn, he may well be seen as a modern day Nostradamus in 300 to 500 years. :wink:

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More like a couple of years ago when the first Snowden documents were released. Big brother is already reality more than ever before, just a majority of people doesn’t or doesn’t want to recognize that.

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Forget Snowden and the circus show that followed the fall out.

If you lived through the “Cold War” on a military base, what Snowden released didn’t surprise me or my peers, it was an unwritten acknowledgement of an paranoid era, keeping close tabs on friends and enemies. Who maybe susceptible of changing sides.

Big brother has been about since time immemorial, ever evolving its grip through religion, monarchy, class, the work ethic and money. To divide and conquer society and nations. With tried and tested methods of big stick and carrot.

You have to think CCTV current and the potential marriage with Bio-metrics. It is just a new tool in the long list tools in their expending toolbox. The screw takes another turn.

The thought Police are only the product of the Station Master, to keep the rest of us compliant. :rofl:

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Is this really any different than them putting microphones in the check out lines or using cameras to track customer to view purchasing habits? No.

It wasn’t a surprise to me either. The reason why Snowden and his documents are so important, because during e.g. the cold war it would never have been possible to execute surveillance on such a massive amount of people. It was technically impossible. Nowadays, it is not only possible to execute serveillance on basically anyone with an internet connection on earth, but, as Snowden has revealed, it is actually being done and THIS time nobody can claim this to be a conspiracy theory, anymore. Now it is a proven fact and all those “chill man, no one’s gonna spy on you, bro” people will finally shut up.

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Hi Wade, in a nutshell, no.

But the Candy-Camera (CCTV) and furry covered microphones at the check-out tills would be more obvious than the stealth laden shopping trolley.

Outside of a professional athlete benefiting from this type of data, to analyse their performance and bodily functions such as heart rate, core temperature, distance covered, average speed and sprints, to hopefully improve their ability next time round.

Personally, given a choice, I wouldn’t shop at this store. Plus don’t look forward to this invasive technology coming the UK. :wink:

Their tests went off without a single person noticing.
No furry covered mic’s and cctv is already present in
most stores even if people do not know it.

I dont like any of it but, while you see it as a professional
athlete use they see it as a better targeting of product to
consumer.

Really, should be “an opt out”, similar to when you visit your doctor, and they have a young student sitting in for job experience. :wink:

It is sad, but true; powerful and wealthy sections of humankind use every innovation for their own benefit, for political or commercial control and advantage. Digital technologies provide so many incredible social and practical benefits for everyone, but they end up being manipulated, monopolised and controlled for profit and power, to the detriment of individual freedom and mutual good.

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Hang on, let me ask Alexa what she thinks about all this.

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nah,
should be “OPT IN”
without that you dont have informed consent
Maybe time to appropriate current dumb trolley (a lot of them end up in peoples gardens) and go back and forth to supermarket with it so no data
LoL

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True, though the block of flats near our local supermarket, every floor near the lift shaft usually has a trolley.

@ jmz007

Don’t you mean Cortana, lol

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Hat tip to Admiral Poindexter!