Google Glass: Orwellian surveillance with fluffier branding

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


I don't see how this is Orwellian when the photographs are not going to a central government or sometimes even removed from the device.

Originally posted by JohnnyAnonymous
Lets do a bit of forward thinking here.

(1) If you had guests coming over your house, would you let them in if they were wearing the glasses or ask them to be removed?

Do you ask your house guests to turn off their smart phones?

(2) If you were the CEO/Manager of a company, would you allow your employees to continue wearing these while you worked?

Do you ask your employees not to use their smart phones while they work?

(3) Would these glasses pose a problem legally to those that drive with them on? Would you want to be a passenger in a car of someone wearing these?

We have hands free cell phone laws. I suspect these will follow the same.

(4) If you were the parent of a small child in kindergarten or preschool would you feel comfortable with anyone wearing these near your child or school?

We already have people using smart phone cameras everywhere, these in and of themselves will not pose any greater threat than what can be done now.

I think your asking the wrong questions. This technology is already prevasive in our society and the potential to cause harm is already there. Why not go on a smart phone/tablet PC rampage and include all devices with this technology? Why just pick on the Google Glass?

The greatest danger in this is data mining but that can already be done through smart phones and tablets while using the camera. And they can only data mine when you choose to have the camera turned on. At some point you have to trust Google not to misuse your data that's stored on the servers. Do you question what Verizon or AT&T or T-Mobile is doing with your data you send through your smart phone? The Google Glass is no different.

I think this technology will also be copied by other companies and they will make models that do different things, behave different ways. I'd like to have one for the home wifi and have it connect to my laptop. Either way, these will be far from powerful computers. they will be no different than the smart phones with browsers we already have - minus the phone. I think thats going to be telling. If people wont get at least the same functionality of their smart phone, this will fade quickly into oblivion.

Originally posted by JohnPhoenix

We already have people using smart phone cameras everywhere, these in and of themselves will not pose any greater threat than what can be done now.

I have to disagree with you on that thought and here's why,

With a cell phone, someone is physically holding up to their face the phone to photograph or record a person (object, whatever). With these because they are constantly on the 'users' face (with no tale-tale sign of being turned on), you'll never know if your being just spoken to, or being recorded.

As a former videographer in the broadcast medium, if I were to point a camera at someone for use in some project, I'd have to have the subject sign a release form. Do you think that the wearers of the Google glasses will be asking the same permission before they post up the footage they took of ex-wives/girlfriends, the boss yelling at employees, the (insert other forms of pervasive intrusion here..)?

This goes much further legally and morally than "just like a cellphone" ...

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


It can easily be done covertly now with many smartphones tablets and laptops that have both front and back facing cameras. There are even tiny wireless button hole cameras that can take great stills and video - you'd never know they are there. Voyeurism is Big and growing all the time

I'd like you Johnny to answer me on your thoughts of trusting the company that stores your data be it Google, or a smart phone provider. Do you trust them? Those companies don't gain if Bob takes a picture of a girl changing at a beach changing hut, but they do gain big if they data mine to send you targeted ads. They will get your sale too in time because of the huge amount of psychology they use when they target you. What would you propose to stop this practice?