There has been a lot of speculation flying around about what the pigeons are up to in quarantine.
Well I’m about to tell you.
Let’s unravel the future of public surveillance.
This is starting now and you will have to decide where you stand.
Coronavirus is the largest global distraction there has been in recent years. There is little attention being paid to anything else. Some monkeys have even been blaming the rate of infections on unrelated issues, such as the new Huawei 5G network masts. And while countries around the globe battle to get back to reality, this is the root of another looming crisis.
Health vs Privacy – which is more important to you?
Obviously the answer to that is health. You’d hand over your iCloud password and the keys to your flat if it saved you from a hospital bed. And you would do it for your loved ones too. All together as a nation, we will opt into giving away any data which will supposedly aid the journey out of quarantine. You may have already downloaded apps where you can report the state of your health and whether you’ve been in contact with anyone infected. Well soon, perhaps very soon, you’re not going to have a choice.
Apple and Google have already teamed up to build increased surveillance into their operating systems. This functionality will work via bluetooth connection to nearby devices. As each device has a unique signature, your phone will automatically register where you’ve been and any proximity to others, including the known infected. This will very likely mean, depending on where you go and who you meet, the government will be able to impose individual quarantine on you, to keep you from further spreading the infection.
This is one exit strategy out of this mess.
And this might sound all well and good if it cures our nation faster… yes I’m excited for Maccys to reopen as well, BUT, these companies (e.g. Apple & Google) would NEVER have been authorised to implement these invasions on our devices outside of this disaster. Public surveillance will move on leaps and bounds in the name of health and there’s nothing we will do to stop it. The scary thing is once our devices start this level of tracking…. where you go, who you meet, what you do… there will be no going back.
Pigeon surveillance technology will allow for your mobile signature to be pinged off any one of these drones, meaning you wouldn’t even need to come into close proximity with another human. Is there a pigeon drone perched on your roof as you sneak out the house from quarantine? You’re clocked. You’re done for. Probably a fine on the spot and a popup notification saying if you break quarantine again there’ll be flashing lights in your driveway.
Consider this thought experiment from Yuval Noah Harari, who writes for the Financial Times. A hypothetical government demands every citizen wears a biometric bracelet that monitors body temperature and heart-rate 24 hours a day. The resulting data is hoarded and analysed by government algorithms. The algorithms will know that you are sick even before you know it, and they will know where you have been, and who you met. The chains of infection could be drastically shortened, and even cut altogether. Sounds great right?
The flip side is this is the gateway to a terrifying new surveillance system. Once biometrics are accessible to this government, they can read your vitals as a reaction to anything. Do you watch a video and your heart rate rises? When do you laugh? When do you cry? What makes you super angry? The same technology that identifies illness, could also identify happiness. And Cambridge Analytica has proven that this kind of public data could have terrifying political impact.
OH AND ONE MORE THING. The installation of 5G networks is obviously going to boost the speed and capacity of data flying through the airwaves. Glossing over the fact that the company behind this is Huawei and it poses a very real threat to the Chinese having a backdoor into our public data….. (is that why they’re burning them down)… these networks will be propping up our future surveillance state with better images, detailed video and live facial recognition from wherever you go. Combine this with your search history, your social media, your whereabouts, your movements and your contacts, the government suddenly have a complete database on you, with live updates.
So what are the pigeons doing throughout all this?
Enforcing quarantine and strengthening the future of our surveillance state.
