There is no argument that the Digital Technology Age has changed our world in a phenomenal way, forever . What might have seemed like a fantasy in 1985 became a techies greatest dream or perhaps a Pandora's box with hackers by 1990.In the midst of this occurs the genius of social media. However, like a chameleon ,it continues to redefine itself by its masterminds who control it by influencing how we think and see as it flashes images across the screen. Their design and desire is to mold and shape not just your data but how that data can even recreate your reality orientation. In the movie "Minority Report" the concept of "pre-crime" had become a reality in a society that can now predict your next move before you even knew what you are going to do because of your current or past behavior activity in a network similar to the internet. The "system" can in fact "read" you based on patterns. These patterns are essentially based also on your phone calls. In this system your texts, what you buy , where you buy, what you eat, who you e-mail, what advertisement you look at and even who your social contacts are all compiled in a database. Thereafter a sophisticated tracking of your data activity is followed systematically. If your activity is not "regular" to the database or is irregular because of inconsistency in your movements, irregularities in purchases or contacts with non-regular persons in your network, the system alarms. The essence of the film "Minority Report", though fictional, was that your whole life can be "data-profiled" and made into bytes of information for any computer to predict what you do. In other words your profile
is your personality. Data therefore risk stratifies a person into potential threat assessments in a system that procures information. This method already is used assiduously by financial, marketing , retail, major corporations and yes, even social media. Before you have even typed in a word completely on your laptop or tablet the very responses you are searching for seems to magically appear with a list of possible choices you could be looking up. This isn't just a cute little application being used by the search engines to assist, it is in fact "learning" your behavior. The search engine has "anticipated" what you could be searching based on your habits and the patterns they create. Based on your previous searches , the content, the frequency or types of selections allows a company to put together a profile of "who you are" . It also permits them to find out what type of consumer you could be. This means that the database describes all possibilities of what you are looking up by anticipating your next purchase even down to the type of brand you prefer. This enhances the company to know how to induce you . Sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but it is social reality. Computers have already been designed to create contingencies to mathematically determine outcomes. This special technique of studying and formulating mathematical patterns is called stochiometry. Whether it is tracking an epidemic ,matching criminal behavior patterns in communities, or recognizing trends in the economy , they are all mathematical analysis predicting outcomes or behaviors. Whether you are swiping your credit card or shopping online there is virtually no difference to the methods approach. What are the implications when a state or county wishes to use those data in either predicting voter turnout or worse yet allow it to "fabricate" the data by tweaking districts (digital gerrymandering) . When it comes to health there are two ways to look at it. On one side it could help epidemiologist map an outbreak of an epidemic by helping to find the leading edge of it. While in the case of personal health profiles could make diagnosis speedier . Medical data-basing can be further fortified by hand held devices such as cell phones, tablets or even laptops through simple touch interface. The skin of your hand to the screen could allow real time data to become accessible to a healthcare system . New devices such as these and others exist today that would allow virtually all physiologic functions of a person to be monitored so that professionals could react quicker to emergencies, alter drug dosages faster, accurately or even activate a pacemaker all done remotely. It means labs, pharmacies, clinics, doctors and 3rd party payer systems can intercept those data for purposes of assisting a healthcare system at anyone's daily life routine. But , much like social media, health companies could use the data on patient/consumers by advertising to them with new treatments and medical devices and procedures. Intelligence data-basing corporations( i.e.,Life Lock) never could have conceived of individuals giving over their personal data, files, or photos to cross check against their own data file to "verify" an individuals identity. A more sophisticated version is now bio-metric scanning where an individuals digits, iris or face could be recognized as they sign on to social media. But, there is another side to all of this technology as it expands and is modified to our lives, that is these pernicious uses can lead to abuse and misuse. The sell or trade of data for a company's own or a rogue agent's purposes becomes possible. The potential for hacking files or a electrical grid or satellite brown out can also become problematic. Social media has often raised the issue of privacy , patent law, copyright law, as well as ownership of intellectual properties. The use and misuse of your words and image is always a potential in a system run a muck. If social media is made to be more safe for public use, it begs the questions then who are the "elite" few who are privileged to see your data files(medical, financial, travel)? Also what can someone draw or conclude from the patterns of your data history? If on the other hand social media isn't policed , a potential misuse of unauthorized sources may become a bigger issue. Whether it's a right of privacy , potential hacker issue or merely digital voyeurism, social media is influencing culture and how we all interact . Is this technology a final piece of a greater highly complex and complicated jig saw puzzle that sees the advantage of the human- digital interface beyond capitalism in a brave new world? As an aside it is rather ironic that Randi Zuckerberg, sister of famed Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg announced on NPR(National Public Radio) this week that consumers should cut back on the time used on social media!
OVERALL ANALYSIS:Some have hinted that the current world system is slipping into black hole . Failures in economic, financial, political and health, energy systems are at a crisis level . Many look at digital technology to solve many of these same issues and it potentially can. A computer can perform thousands of equations within seconds. This technology has been reduced to RFID which evolved USP bar coding exponentially. Now the implantable micro-chip has been proposed as a definite improvement to this technology. This device puts all financial, social, psychological and medical profiles at the hands of its handlers immediately to "solve" problems before they get out-of-hand. This is perhaps the pinnacle of trans-humanism at its most pristine moment. The world has a "solution" device , But, is it a solution?(More at nanonutrition360.blogspot.com)
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