Privacy, Surveillance, Everyware & Ubiquitous Computing

The impact technology has on our everyday lives in considerably significant. If you were to picture the influence technology has in our homes, the impact it has would come as a surprise. The majority of things we touch everyday are the product of technological invention. Where I am, sitting at my laptop, various forms of technology are at hands reach. My phone, my tv, my tv remote and additionally my iPad. Furthermore, we are living in a society which is highly technologised. In urban spaces, we are connected with devices of technology that we probably are unaware of. Devices such a CCTV is a devise which allows our movements to be monitored and avoids the general aspect of privacy and is further a constructed piece of technology.

CCTV cameras ability to recognise faces and identity exactly who it is causes a lot of conspiracy. Although the devices are merely just conforming to the roles of technology, many people raise the issue of weather you should be entitled to an element of privacy when walking down the street. This issue, however can be looked at in two lights, when it come to issue such as terrorism the ability to recognise someone’s face through the means of CCTV is considered quite obviously extremely necessary.

The idea that you are “free” to search the internet and explore many different sites is something that the majority of people believe is the case. However, through different studies and a clear distinction of our ability to search the internet, it allows me to understand that this is in fact not the case. Our freedom to search is restricted through devices such as “parental control” and googles ability to recognise a computers IP address allowing the site to personalise the answers to your specific search. So, in many cases two people would more than likely receive different search results, even though they searched the same query.  This reinforces the answer that the internet isn’t a huge free space; we are in fact, just like walking down the street, restricted and unable to have an element of privacy. Everything done on the internet is recorded and it would always be possible to track searches back.

Parental control is a structured organisation from many search engines allowing parents to control their children’s use on the internet, this furthermore reinforces the ideology that our searches are always monitored allowing us to additionally have no privacy. However, it has been proved that these devices are insignificant because they can be hacked.

Everyday, for the majority of our days, we will interact with a computer device without even realising. This supports the idea that the use of technology is current in our lives and this furthermore will remain the case/if not get increasingly get worse for the rest of our lives. It is virtually impossible to not interact with a computer through a day, interactions include your phones automatically connecting to local wi-f zones, going through electric doors, using phones, watching television… The list is endless. Subconsciously, these ideas are automatically linked to the limited privacy in our lives. Using an oyster card is an example of a computer device, but it also tracks your movement, limiting ones privacy.

No technology is safe in our lives, they can all be hacked and altered. It is impossible to switch directly off a device, you affectively would always be able to track its movements regardless of weather its power is turnt to standby.

Recently a development which allows an interaction between emotions and technology has been invented for iPhone users. “Sirii”, the new device constructed by apple allowing users to interact with their mobile device asking specific questions receiving answers specific to their needs. This interaction further emphasises a devices ability to communicate with a human and engage with emotions.