The news regarding the detention of the Luthra brothers in Thailand, following the Goa club fire tragedy, and the subsequent circulation of their handcuffed photos, struck me profoundly. It's a stark reminder of how rapidly and extensively information, even personal and compromising imagery, can travel across the globe in our hyper-connected age.
I've often reflected on the vanishing line between private and public life, a theme I explored years ago in my blog, "Privacy does not live here!". The image of the Luthra brothers, no matter the circumstances of their detention, serves as a vivid, undeniable illustration of this erosion of personal control.
In another piece, "Supreme may Propose : Technology will Dispose", and again in "Seeing AI through Google Glass?", I recalled Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen's poignant observation from their book, The New Digital Age, where they stated that "it will be IMPOSSIBLE to control what others capture and share." This sentiment resonates deeply with the current situation; the moment an event occurs, especially one involving legal repercussions, the world's myriad digital eyes and ears are there to capture and disseminate. The very act of a photo showing the Luthra brothers handcuffed, instantly accessible to many, underscores this reality. It is a testament to the fact that even in distant lands, there is increasingly no hiding place from the pervasive reach of technology and the watchful gaze of the digital public.
My long-standing discussions with individuals like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, particularly their disagreements on the future and dangers of AI, highlighted my concern about the accumulation and dissemination of personal data. I wrote in "Artificial Intelligence : Destroyer of Privacy?" about how AI-powered assistants, like Zuckerberg's Jarvis, constantly observe and learn our behaviors, and how this "voluntary (—or involuntary) sharing of personal info by a billion persons" could be the tipping point where Artificial Intelligence will overtake human intelligence. The tracing and detention of the Luthra brothers is a testament to how digital footprints and information flows, wittingly or unwittingly, can leave a trail.
Even when discussing seemingly benign technologies like RFID chips, as in my blog "Can Supreme Stop This?", I emphasized Professor Alessandro Acquisti's warning that "Technology designed for one purpose may later be used for another." Todd Westby, CEO of Three Square Market, might have assured us that implanted chips aren't GPS trackers, but the principle remains: data, once collected, has a life of its own, capable of being repurposed or exposed in ways never intended. The movement of individuals, whether voluntary or under surveillance, is increasingly logged and traceable, as I explored in "Internet of Humans".
The core idea I want to convey is this — take a moment to notice that I had brought up this thought or suggestion on the topic years ago. I had already predicted this outcome or challenge, and I had even proposed a solution at the time. Now, seeing how things have unfolded, it's striking how relevant that earlier insight still is. Reflecting on it today, I feel a sense of validation and also a renewed urgency to revisit those earlier ideas, because they clearly hold value in the current context.
The Goa tragedy, and the global hunt for those involved, is a stark, real-world example of how the march of technology has made privacy a relic of the past. It shows that in today's world, there truly is no hiding place.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh
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