Why Google wants to hear your voice and Facebook wants all your pictures

[Flyffel]

Why does Google implement microphones in products that don't use them? What does Facebook gain from your pictures? How can the advertisers know how you feel at the moment... or even know when someone is pregnant before they have told anyone? What happens with all the seemingly excess data that is being generated in our digital age, and where might this all lead us?

Shoshana Zuboff has written a bestselling book about the age of "surveillance capitalism" we live in.

In the documentary below she summarises what "surveillance capitalism" is while answering all the teaser questions I posed to get you curious. It's very interesting and definitely worth watching!

Does this bother you? How do you feel about how much your phone, Google/Facebook/Amazon/your apps know about you? Where do you think will this lead us? Feel free to post your thoughts on the topic!

 

[sierra]

They just gathering information so that we can easily controlled by big corporations. Just capitalism tingz.

 

[John Wick]

I always hide my location and disable the apps on my phone.

I never use apps.

I loathe google and it's spy/bloatware.

It's insidious.

 

[Flyffel]

I always hide my location and disable the apps on my phone.

I disabled the GPS on my phone and google maps still perfectly tracked my movement in the monthy timeline report. At the very least if you have "hey google" activated on your android they will "listen" to literally everything you say/hear, but I suspect they'd "listen" either way. It's almost impossible to "defend" yourself properly with a modern smartphone. :/

 

[John Wick]

I disabled the GPS on my phone and google maps still perfectly tracked my movement in the monthy timeline report. At the very least if you have "hey google" activated on your android they will "listen" to literally everything you say/hear, but I suspect they'd "listen" either way. It's almost impossible to "defend" yourself properly with a modern smartphone. :/

I've disabled all voice.
The only time I talk is phone calls and it is illegal to listen in on those.

 

[Mayor Monday]

Google is evil. Though we are easily duped here in the US- and have easily fallen into Google's trap- its company's long shadow envelopes the globe. Worldwide, Google is watching, logging, and selling us out.

I despise Google's ad services. I always keep my location as anonymous as I can. I try to deviate from using Amazon, and I have no forms of social media anymore besides this site. Google has not only infiltrated what I see, but it does so to everyone, and this includes information. They like to bend the political topics and whether or not they are visible/invisible to people who are searching for information. A great example of this is PragurU- a conservative YouTube channel whose videos have been consistently blocked and censored.

Google is one of the largest pieces of the modern-day Big Brother. I never, ever trust it.

They just gathering information so that we can easily controlled by big corporations. Just capitalism tingz.

Though I do believe capitalism and obviously greed plays a huge part in the evil of Google, Google is also a great deal too friendly on the left-leaning side of the internet and governmental surveillance. If the government wanted our information to track down those they did not like- Google would sell us out in an instant.

This is true for other countries that are not even capitalists, such as predominantly communist and socialist nations. Selling us out is a capitalist move. Selling us out for political means is beyond worse than capitalism.

 

[sierra]

Google is evil. Though we are easily duped here in the US- and have easily fallen into Google's trap- its company's long shadow envelopes the globe. Worldwide, Google is watching, logging, and selling us out.

I despise Google's ad services. I always keep my location as anonymous as I can. I try to deviate from using Amazon, and I have no forms of social media anymore besides this site. Google has not only infiltrated what I see, but it does so to everyone, and this includes information. They like to bend the political topics and whether or not they are visible/invisible to people who are searching for information. A great example of this is PragurU- a conservative YouTube channel whose videos have been consistently blocked and censored.

Google is one of the largest pieces of the modern-day Big Brother. I never, ever trust it.



Though I do believe capitalism and obviously greed plays a huge part in the evil of Google, Google is also a great deal too friendly on the left-leaning side of the internet and governmental surveillance. If the government wanted our information to track down those they did not like- Google would sell us out in an instant.

This is true for other countries that are not even capitalists, such as predominantly communist and socialist nations. Selling us out is a capitalist move. Selling us out for political means is far worse.

Google is left and right. It’s politically ambiguous on purpose. Google doesn’t stand for anything so it can stand for everything. It doesn’t want to alienate any political party or social class as to increase its ability to get inside every family home with Alexa or Google assistant so it can sell our information. Google and Facebook is corrupt business.

 

[Mayor Monday]

Google is left and right. It’s politically ambiguous on purpose. Google doesn’t stand for anything so it can stand for everything. It doesn’t want to alienate any political party or social class as to increase its ability to get inside every family home with Alexa or Google assistant so it can sell our information. Google and Facebook is corrupt business.

Excellent points and I see where you're coming from. Though I do believe Google is changing from being more center ground to the sides of those who help them the most.

I further agree with the dangerousness of the voice assistants. I don't see why anyone would be okay with having these in their homes.

 

[Zura]

The modern day conspiracy theorists

 

[Cheryll]

Surveillance capitalism?

interesting. I'm sure those people in Google are dying at my raspy voice and I sound like a little boy.

 

[Zura]

What I find funny is that they're calling Google "evil" when it's the government that is asking them for / buying the information.

 

[Cheryll]

What I find funny is that they're calling Google "evil" when it's the government that is asking them for / buying the information.

Evil by blinding me with their white background at 2am.

 

[Flyffel]

The modern day conspiracy theorists

It's not a conspiracy, it's just the truth... Watch the video if you don't believe me, it's literally undeniable stuff that is happening.

 

[Mayor Monday]

What I find funny is that they're calling Google "evil" when it's the government that is asking them for / buying the information.

So, the government is the only one evil in the instance of Google selling/handing over our information? That doesn't make sense.

 

[sierra]

What I find funny is that they're calling Google "evil" when it's the government that is asking them for / buying the information.

The government and big corporation are in the sheets together. Politicians are paid off one after another to change their political stance . The NRA shelled out over 3 million to Mark Rubio after the Orlando shootings in order for him to remain neutral on gun laws.

Another example is after WW2 there was too much dairy left over as that is what they were feeding soldiers. The dairy industry couldn't let that product got to waste or they would risk major financial loss. So they paid politicians and the Department of Agriculture to endorse 3 servings of milk a day even though 1 in 3 American's can't even digest it.

Big corp, big pharma, oil and government are the world leaders.

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

god i hate this, i already know all about this but i try to live in as much sweet ignorance as possible so that i dont get paranoid all the time. im glad ive never used facebook but google is a menace

 

[sierra]

god i hate this, i already know all about this but i try to live in as much sweet ignorance as possible so that i dont get paranoid all the time. im glad ive never used facebook but google is a menace

Yeah I know what you mean. It’s a dark dystopia but there’s no panic or immediate call to action and it makes me just want to take a nap. Staying distracted is so much easier than facing what’s going on out there. WHAT DO I DO TO EVEN HELP ITS SO BAD THESE ARE BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRIES

 

[Flyffel]

The craziest part are the people who feel comfortable leaving their home security as well as functions of their home up to companies like Google. As mentioned in the video, that enables the companies to hold the basic functions of your home like functioning heat regulation under "ransom" unless you agree to their policies (which you basically won't read and can change). It's straight up big-brother dystopian stuff and people willingly install these systems in their homes - as if products like Google Home and Alexa weren't bad enough!

 

[Shellzilla_515]

I'm not really fond of smart home devices because A: What this thread is generally talking about, B: I'm not that lazy just to flip on a light switch, and C: Technology is too complicated for me despite knowing how to use a laptop.

 

[Dim]

Because they are stupid and annoying