The New Yorker tackles a world where surveillance cameras are everywhere. A few years ago I was speaking to an investment group from Minnesota (long story), and during the Q&A someone asked about possible growth areas. I gave three things that I thought would become industries in the not-too-distant future:
- Digital detox (unplugging from digital devices)
- Telepresence (yeah, we’ve been trying for decades)
- Personal counter-surveillance
We’ve already seen #1. The current Corona virus pandemic is pushing the envelope on #2. And the New Yorker article linked above discusses work on #3. The balance between security and privacy is rather skewed these days, between surveillance by governments and the public willingly sharing their private details with others and large tech companies. Once AR devices start to become prevalent, it’ll continue to get weirder. Some are looking forward to being able to identify anyone around them. Others, not so much. We as a society will need to redraw some of the lines between public and private.