Everything You
January 10th, 2003 | by Tony Steidler-Dennison |If this doesn’t scare you, you’ve already expired. It’s a graphic recently pulled from the Total Information Awareness site. A representation of what TIA perceives its own mission to be, it’s a frightening insight into the data this group intends to gather.
4 Responses to “Everything You”
By joseph castleschouldt on Jan 10, 2003 | Reply
Tony,
You are submerged in computers
more deeply than I. Do you think they can accomplish any part of what they want with our present technology?
Wouldn’t the NSA already be doing this if it’s possible?
Joseph
By Denis E. Ambrose, Jr. on Jan 10, 2003 | Reply
I wouldn’t be surprised if the FBI or NSA were already performing some kind of domestic intelligence gathering. Maybe even the CIA. Doesn’t make it right, but the fact the government under Bush and Ashcroft doesn’t care about letting everyone know that they are watching us.
By Tony on Jan 10, 2003 | Reply
Technologically, we’re already on the way to some of this. Echelon is a much rumored program to track global communication in real time. No one in the US will confirm or deny this program, but the European partners have confirmed its existence. Context recognition in large databases is much better than it was even a year ago. The projects by such folks as Mitch Kapor rely heavily on context recognition. In other words, I don’t think the goals of TIA are beyond what can be expected by their goal for full implementation of 2007.
In truth, much of this data is already publicly available in one form or another. It’s the ability to gather those disparate sources into a single database structure that worries me. That gives the dataholders the ability to profile each of us - to make some determination as to our patriotism based on our life’s data. That profiling necessarily starts with the assumption that we all have something to hide, and that it’s up to the government to ferret out our true intentions.
The collection and profiling of this data treats us all as suspects. That worries me greatly.
Is it possible by 2007 to have the technology in place? I think we’d be foolish not to believe so.
By Jeff Campbell on Jan 11, 2003 | Reply
In my opinion (the second ‘three most important words’ in the English language), the big picture on this issue is that this is not, as Joseph hinted, really about information. There is no doubt that if this kind of intelligence gathering is possible with today’s technology, it is probably already being done. The reason why it’s being done so publicly now is two fold. One, if it was announced as being already in place but being improved or expanded it would highlight ever so brightly the failures of intelligence in regards to the 9/11 catastrophe. Second, the administration is aware that a large number of Americans who, sadly, take their freedom for granted would gladly give up other rights, like privacy, if they felt that the U.S. would be a safer place for it. The powers that be are playing on American fear for their safety and security to create the illusion of winning the war on terrorism domestically with the price for this victory being just some pesky rights and freedoms. Looking at these developments from a long term perspective, and knowing that the majority of Americans who feel MORE secure as a result of these policies will likely cast a vote FOR them in the next election it appears that this may just be a long term election ploy for Pres. Bush and the Republican administration. If you carry this line of reasoning to its obvious conclusion I realize it will seem insulting and repugnant to my American friends but this is what it looks like from here.