Mae has just landed a job at the hottest company in the world, which is on the forefront of connecting the world online. Think Google meets Facebook/Twitter/Instagram meets Paypal. This connectivity brings about transparency, but at what point does transparency become an invasion of privacy?
I’ve tried about twenty times to start writing this and each time I stumble because there’s so much to say I don’t know where to begin. I guess the best spot is to say I have a love/hate relationship with technology. There are some obvious conveniences associated with technology, like working from the couch, being about to track my kids through a phone or a watch or, when they are old enough to drive, making sure distractions can be limited so for example the car won’t move if the phone is in use. There are also some disadvantages, like replacing meaningful personal relationships with superficial ones online, the idea that drones and other robots could replace jobs that people need, and cyberbullying, because let’s be honest people get brave when they can comment under anonymous usernames.
My love/hate examples may be different from yours, but what I think can be agreed upon is that each technological advancement that is achieved is initially undertaken with the best of intentions. Solving a need, improving lives, even pushing the boundaries of exploration, are all worthy pursuits. But sometimes these pursuits have unintended consequences. Robots may save companies money so they can invest in R&D, or cover employee healthcare, but those robots are replacing people who then need government assistance to survive until they find another job, if they find one. Shopping from your couch is unbelievably convenient, but its forcing brick-and-mortar shops out of business. Technology lets us keep in touch and/or exploit our exploits, but checking in tells thieves when we aren’t home and posting personal information exposes our identities to anyone watching.
The Circle is an extreme example of how worthy pursuits can spiral out of control. Only it’s not as extreme as you might think. When you control information you can control business, politics, even people. And by putting our faith in technology, by putting our entire identities online, we are voluntarily giving this information to anyone who wants to collect and use it. I am not perpetuating a conspiracy theory here and I am not preaching that technology is bad. I am suggesting that society is moving toward a more virtual presence than a physical one, and while that’s not entirely bad it may not be entirely good.
Back when there was a big debate about the government listening to phone calls to thwart terrorism I said let them listen to me, I’m not that interesting. If people object they’re doing something bad. But I see now that mentality was giving license to anyone to eavesdrop on me anytime, anywhere, even in the privacy of my own home. That mentality is essentially giving up privacy. And when we start to live virtually instead of physically we are doing the same thing – giving license to people and companies to be part of our lives. Right now we choose what they see about us, but what happens if one day we don’t have that choice, we become completely transparent so even the things we don’t choose to share can be found online. And what happens if there is only one entity that collects, stores and uses that information? Would we be ourselves, or would we be an extension of IT?
Lots of deep questions can be drawn from this book; I’ve barely scratched the surface. But the lesson I take from it is that there needs to be a balance between transparency and privacy, and we should exercise that balance ourselves.
Michele Lenard 