Giving up privacy in exchange for...

How did we get used to share information with the cloud

Alex Ewerlöf

May 6, 2023

It is amazing how fast we get used to giving away our privacy in exchange for convenience, safety, curiosity, etc. 😄😲

Products that tap into the core human needs and desires can gather massive amounts of data that are traditionally hard to get. This data is also super attractive for mass surveillance.

Here’s a little cartoon I did a while ago but got the chance to finish it over the weekend:

Enable "Show images" in your email client to see the cartoon. — Human needs and desires facilitate voluntary mass surveillance

There are two ways to read that comic. Did you try right to left? 😉

Share this cartoon if you find it funny. 😀

How did we get there? And what's the solution?

4 Comments

Sergio Visinoni

Writes Sudo Make Me a CTO

May 6Liked by Alex Ewerlöf

I really liked this comic strip. As any comic, I take it as a broad generalisation with a certain level of truth behind it.

I do believe in many cases the reason to track more and more user's data has been driven more by greed and commercial opportunities rather than governmental agencies. The real problem is that big tech companies and governmental agencies have exactly the same incentives: collecting more and more user's data.

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1 reply by Alex Ewerlöf

Anurag Kale

Is there a solution? Everyone wants information (not wisdom) and knowing a lot of things is a status signal. There demand, hence the supply.

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