Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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'Facial recognition' error message on vending machine sparks concern at University of Waterloo (kitchener.ctvnews.ca)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

151 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A set of smart vending machines at the University of Waterloo is expected to be removed from campus after students raised privacy concerns about their software.

The machines have M&M artwork on them and sell chocolate and other candy. They are located throughout campus, including in the Modern Languages building and Hagey Hall.

Earlier this month, a student noticed an error message on one of the machines in the Modern Languages building. It appeared to indicate there was a problem with a facial recognition application.

"We wouldn't have known if it weren't for the application error. There's no warning here," said River Stanley, a fourth-year student, who investigated the machines for an article in the university publication, mathNEWS.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 8 months ago (1 children)

They have to make it sound like it's private and secure, but it really isn't. It's sad how dystopian our future is becoming.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

I keep telling my zoomer son he needs to read 1984. Not to live his life in fear of it, but to help his awareness of it, and provide an example of what that sort of societal control can look like. It's probably the one thing I nag him about. 5 years later he still hasn't read it. lol

I haven't read it in decades, but I still feel it's hard to miss certain parallels with modern reality when you have.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

A good book to pair with 1984 is A Brave New World. They both tackle forms of control but from two different approaches. In A Brave New World there's no need for thought police. Every person is designed and crafted from conception to adulthood to never have a criminal thought.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

That's another good one! Thanks for reminding me of it! Kind of ironically I read most of that book while hiding from my job (that's a story) in the bathroom for short periods of time in my early twenties.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

That plus Helen Nissenbaum. When you read 1984 and then start thinking about the concept of future contexts changing use of private data, you get real nervous.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

Read Big brother by Cory Doctorow while you're at it. It is excellent!