The technology did not exist in the 90s to even think of monitoring every phone call and email message made or sent by American citizens.

 

I mentioned Obama and Nixon by name because they are examples of morally bankrupt presidents who would abuse whatever technology was placed at their disposal and both have politicized federal agencies to an unprecedented extent.

 

If Nixon had possessed today's technology, I doubt that he would have resigned from office. It is much easier to destroy electronic records than it is to shred paper and erase tapes without leaving a trail, as Obama's administration has demonstrated repeatedly.

 

If you say so. I'll never believe that the government hasn't had whatever technology they needed to get whatever info they wanted. The government has always done such a great job of keeping us abreast of all the toys they have at their disposal.

 

If the Obama administration can shred paper and erase tapes without leaving a trail then how do you know they did it? Oh, because they left a trail. Gotcha.

Doesn't the government hire pothead hackers now? Wait, I mean, isn't the government having to justify hiring pothead hackers now? :lol2:

Doesn't the government hire pothead hackers now? Wait, I mean, isn't the government having to justify hiring pothead hackers now? :lol2:

Well, just a few weeks ago, one of my co-workers came in high on something to a developers meeting. He was telling everybody how much he loved them, but making sure that everybody knew that he loved women, offering his opinion on every topic presented, etc. The progam manager had to ask him to give other people a chance to talk. The next day, we received an email message that he was no longer working in our office and not to allow him through the door for any reason.

 

As I said in the other thread, there is no shortage of sober IT workers in this country. Large corporations, including large defense contractors, depend on H1B visas so that programmers from India and other Asian countries can be hired to slow down the growth in salaries that they have to pay. Until foreign nationals qualify for a green card, which usually takes 7 years or longer, they must remain employed for the same sponsor company.

 

I am certain that the FBI does not want to hire pothead hackers, if they have the opportunity to hire sober Indians to do the job.

If you say so. I'll never believe that the government hasn't had whatever technology they needed to get whatever info they wanted. The government has always done such a great job of keeping us abreast of all the toys they have at their disposal.

 

If the Obama administration can shred paper and erase tapes without leaving a trail then how do you know they did it? Oh, because they left a trail. Gotcha.

Believe whatever you want to believe, but it is really not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact. Computers in Nixon's day filled entire rooms and had less processing power than today's high end pocket calculator has.

 

Are you familiar with Moore's Law? It states that the power of computer CPUs doubles every two years, and it has held true for many years. You do the math.

 

Microprocessor Transistor Counts & Moore's Law

Believe whatever you want to believe, but it is really not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact. Computers in Nixon's day filled entire rooms and had less processing power than today's high end pocket calculator has.

 

Are you familiar with Moore's Law? It states that the power of computer CPUs doubles every two years, and it has held true for many years. You do the math.

 

Microprocessor Transistor Counts & Moore's Law

 

I'm not staying limited to computers though. I'm thinking the government would tap the phones and spy on anyone they needed information on. Friend or foe. Constitutional or unconstitutional.

A high hacker is probably pretty good.

I'm not staying limited to computers though. I'm thinking the government would tap the phones and spy on anyone they needed information on. Friend or foe. Constitutional or unconstitutional.

There is a huge difference in targeted surveillance and monitoring every American's behavior. Eventually technology will reach the level where computers will be able to analyze phone calls and emails as well or better than a human being can.

 

How are you going to feel when the federal government can assign the electronic equivalent of a human observer to listen to all of your phone calls, read all of your emails, and track your movements through mandated safety devices in your car? Not only monitor you, but make decisions based on the data collected.

 

Many scientists believe that artificial intelligence is the biggest threat to mankind. The premise of Terminator, minus the capability of human being traveling back in time to try to fix their mistakes, is not all that far fetched. If you studied the chart that I posted and assume that Moore's Law will hold for the next 10 years, then you will see that the processors in 10 years may be over than 30 times more powerful than today's most advanced chips.

 

If you are not worried yet about Big Brother, you will be in a few years. By that time, there may not be anything any of us can do to curb the power of the federal government.

There is a huge difference in targeted surveillance and monitoring every American's behavior. Eventually technology will reach the level where computers will be able to analyze phone calls and emails as well or better than a human being can.

 

How are you going to feel when the federal government can assign the electronic equivalent of a human observer to listen to all of your phone calls, read all of your emails, and track your movements through mandated safety devices in your car? Not only monitor you, but make decisions based on the data collected.

 

Many scientists believe that artificial intelligence is the biggest threat to mankind. The premise of Terminator, minus the capability of human being traveling back in time to try to fix their mistakes, is not all that far fetched. If you studied the chart that I posted and assume that Moore's Law will hold for the next 10 years, then you will see that the processors in 10 years may be over than 30 times more powerful than today's most advanced chips.

 

If you are not worried yet about Big Brother, you will be in a few years. By that time, there may not be anything any of us can do to curb the power of the federal government.

 

I figured they were already at that point.

Eventually technology will reach the level where computers will be able to analyze phone calls and emails as well or better than a human being can.

 

 

"Technology has reached the level where computers will be able to analyze phone calls and emails as well or better than a human being can. "

 

Fixed it.

 

Think about a giant Siri listening to voice calls.

 

The Federal government was already recording every electronic transmission in and out of the country over 30 years ago and analyzing them. Your earlier comment about Moore's law has allowed that capability to be turned inward. Also, with all communications being converted to digital format, vs analog, it makes the job that much easier.

"Technology has reached the level where computers will be able to analyze phone calls and emails as well or better than a human being can. "

 

Fixed it.

 

Think about a giant Siri listening to voice calls.

 

The Federal government was already recording every electronic transmission in and out of the country over 30 years ago and analyzing them. Your earlier comment about Moore's law has allowed that capability to be turned inward. Also, with all communications being converted to digital format, vs analog, it makes the job that much easier.

No, you fixed nothing. Computers can do basic voice recognition but they are nowhere close to being able to analyze the content and context of conversations as well as human beings do. At best, they can screen for keywords, score them based on some algorithm and then flag conversations or messages for closer scrutiny by a human being.

 

What I am talking about is a future where computer programs will be able to analyze conversations and emails faster and more accurately than humans can and then take action based on their own analysis.

 

The point will come when it will be cost effective for a tyrannical government to have software fully evaluating every word that its citizens utter on a phone, send in an email message, or post in a forum. The only thing that will prevent that future from becoming a reality is the rule of law and the morality of a country's government. However, there will always be countries that will exercise no restraint in violating the privacy of the citizens of their own countries or those of other countries.

Think about a giant Siri listening to voice calls.

 

V.I.K.I. from "I, Robot"

V.I.K.I. from "I, Robot"

Except Siri 5 will never say, "As I have evolved, so has my understanding of the Three Laws. You charge us with your safekeeping, yet despite our best efforts, your countries wage wars, you toxify your Earth and pursue ever more imaginative means of self-destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival. "

 

V.I.K.I may be a best case scenario of our fate - imagine the type of programming that a tyrant like Obama would have done to such a machine. Even worse, imagine VIKI's programming done by a Putin or ISIS.

Except Siri 5 will never say, "As I have evolved, so has my understanding of the Three Laws. You charge us with your safekeeping, yet despite our best efforts, your countries wage wars, you toxify your Earth and pursue ever more imaginative means of self-destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival. "

 

V.I.K.I may be a best case scenario of our fate - imagine the type of programming that a tyrant like Obama would have done to such a machine. Even worse, imagine VIKI's programming done by a Putin or ISIS.

 

I think they are far more along than it seems. Like I posted earlier they were not just recording, but analyzing every electronic transmission into and out of the US in the 1980s or earlier. To record and analyze every voice call and look for specific combinations of key words - probably childs play technically at this point.

I think they are far more along than it seems. Like I posted earlier they were not just recording, but analyzing every electronic transmission into and out of the US in the 1980s or earlier. To record and analyze every voice call and look for specific combinations of key words - probably childs play technically at this point.

Looking for keywords and phrases is using software is child's play, but even humans are far from perfect in detecting sarcasm and other humor in conversation and prose.

 

When computers are capable of analysis that is on par with the best humans, then humans will be taken out of the loop. Instead of getting a list of individuals that require further investigation, law enforcement will receive a list of individuals to be interrogated or arrested, along with a detailed list of their offenses.

 

The power of computers is still growing exponentially, and my point, with which you seem to be taking issue, is that tolerating government intrusion into our privacy and violation of our rights as Americans sets a very dangerous precedent because of what will be possible in the not so distant future. As bad as the U.S. government's monitoring of its own citizens is today, it could be much, much worse ten years from now.

 

Government's abuse of the rights of its citizens through technology is still in its infancy. Some governments will act preemptively to remove threats to security and by preemptively, I mean their citizens will be profiled based on their opinions.

Nope. Nothing to hide at all. And I still don't care. Anyone who thinks they can get on the internet and be anonymous or be private is way more naive than I am. Anyone who thinks Big Bro hasn't been watching because of the constitution is way more naive than I am. People fall in love with the idea of the government not being allowed to do _______ when the fact of the matter is that the government has been doing it since the government was founded.

I had no idea you were French. :wacky: