This week’s news about Doxing Sunglasses and Dead Internet remind us that Mesh is more than a science fiction story – it’s news about the future. Dead Internet is a theory that – in short – says the Internet and everything about it are so driven by bots and AI that there’s no THERE there, anymore. There’s more texture to the theory, and this video will help you understand better. Take a look:
Our second video is equally as disturbing – Meta’s smart glasses are a privacy nightmare since you can use them to doxx people – publicly personally identifiable information about an individual without their consent – in real time. Watch and then let’s discuss:
I suspect that this slow-motion dystopic nightmare will lead to more low-tech surveillance-defeating tech (like these clothes and this makeup). OUR big takeaway is that there’s a misuse case event cycle that follows any new technology. It can be explained as follows:
New tech enables bad actors to do worse before good actors can do better
That’s right kids – as soon as we discovered nuclear technology, we were using it for bombs. As soon as we developed computers, bad guys were using them to steal things. There’s a misuse case event cycle that follows every new technology – I knew we’d be seeing it as soon as the first ads for Meta Smart Glasses arrived.
What does the misuse case event cycle look like? You’ve heard of the Gartner Hype Cycle, right? Overlayed on that cycle is the misuse case event cycle and it looks like this:
When a new technology appears, you’re going ‘ooh’ and ‘ah!’ The bad guys are going ‘where’ and ‘how?’ ‘How can we weaponize this tech?’ ‘How can we exploit this idea?’ Smart people understand this, which is why you’re seeing AI scientists demanding controls for new machine learning and artificial intelligence applications. You can’t afford to leave your safety in the hands of companies that repeatedly demonstrate their willingness to engage in psychopathic business models.
When it comes to Doxing Sunglasses and Dead Internet, there’s a big idea here. That big idea is: we can and we should feel safe to act for our safety. Don’t let low-information opinions talk you out of your concerns. AI / bots / Smart glasses or Smart phones are exploitable platforms. People are going to exploit them. Feel free to use them – as long as you know they are using you. Honest thieves – yes, Virgina, some are honest – will tell you when they’re going to steal from you. I’d trust the big AI guns a lot more if they spoke about HOW they were going to keep us safe – in specific, measurable terms.
That’s the news for now. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do over here. Be safe!
