Getting to a safer future will require winning over Americans with concerns about the potential intrusiveness of technology. If the government is watching street corners with cameras, can it point its cameras into yards or even windows of homes? If the government can listen for gunshots, could it eavesdrop on private conversations?
“What city administration will be able to resist using these technologies to detect citizens infringing rules and regulations; jaywalkers where that is illegal for example; invalid vehicle parking; vehicle speeding; citizens entering prohibited areas; illegal gatherings; crowd control; and so forth,” wrote Chris Mellor in The Register, a London-based technology news and opinion website. “All of these things can be justified by the individual administrative and security functions, but, taken as a whole, the citizenry are surveilled constantly and increasingly and the boundary between their private activities and public presence moves to reduce their privacy and anonymity.”
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