Volti, Unit 4, chapters 16-18:Shaping and Controlling Technology

Governing TechnologyScary government, or necessary evil?

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Governing Technology• Pros and cons of living in an information age• “Even if technological development has

produced more good than bad, it has proceeded in a fashion that has put it beyond our individual control.” (351)

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Governing Technology, cont.• “It seems as though we have struck a bargain

whereby we consume the fruits of technological advance in return for delegating to others the power to determine the technologies that shape the basic contours of our lives -- everything from what we eat, to how we work, to the way we are entertained.” (351)

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What is (or was) Carnivore?

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© 2009, DCGiftShop.com

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What was the MATRIX?• Multistate AntiTeRrorism

Information eXchange• Developed post 9/11 with

$12 million in federal funds, with each participating state paying $1.8 million / year

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© 1999, Warner Brothers

What is The USA PATRIOT Act?

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PATRIOT Act, cont.

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© 2009, BBC

Protect America Act• Extends reach of Patriot Act• Allows warrantless surveillance

on all communication of a foreign terror suspect, even if a U.S. based person is on one end.

• Provide immunity for telecomm companies that assisted in spying

• (USA Today)

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© Jason Reed

If you haven’t done anything wrong,

you’ve got nothing to be afraid of

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Brandon Mayfield

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Brandon Mayfield

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Brandon Mayfield, cont.

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PATRIOT Act, cont.

• Bi-partisan effort in Senate pushed for revisions

• Unusual mixture of groups opposed it, liberal and conservative, from ACLU to NRA

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PATRIOT Act, cont.

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© 2004, NRA

© 2009, NRA

PATRIOT Act, cont.

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PATRIOT Act, cont.

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© 2009, Washington Post

PATRIOT Act, cont.• Significantly increased airport security • “virtual strip search” machines

– Low-level / backscatter X-rays– Detects weapons easily– Sees through clothes– Currently in testing stage

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Science Fiction: Total Recall

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© 1990, Sony Pictures

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© 1990, Sony Pictures

Science Fact: coming soon to an airport near you

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© 2007, CNN

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Governing Technology• “Are we doomed to the passive acceptance of

technological changes that have been decreed by others?” (351)

• “There is virtually no popular input as to whether or not completely new technologies should be developed. In this sense, democratic controls are at best reactive. Is it possible to have democratic control of technology that goes beyond these after-the-fact votes? (352)

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1. “The real danger is the gradual erosion of individual liberties through the automation, integration, and interconnection of many small, separate record-keeping systems, each of which alone may seem innocuous, even benevolent, and wholly justifiable”.

-- U.S. Privacy Protection Study Commission, 1977

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Governing Technology, cont.

1. “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

-- Ben Franklin, 1759

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Questions• Are privacy and security mutually

exclusive? • In terms of security, have we gone too far,

not far enough, or just far enough, post 9/11?

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