Privatecitizensaregettinginontheacttoo:cyclistsincreasinglywearheadcamsasaninsuranceagainstaggressivedrivers.Ascameratechnologygetssmallerandcheaper,itisn?
thardtoforeseeafuturewherewe?reallfilmingeverythingallthetime,ineverydirection.Would that bea good thing?
Theavailableevidencesuggeststhatitdiscouragesbehaviorsuchaspolicebrutality.Anotherupsideisthatitwouldbehardertogetawaywithcrimesortoescapeblameforaccidents.Butaworldoncameracouldhavesubtlenegativeeffects.ThefloodofdatawepourintothehandsofGoogle,Facebookandothershasalreadyprovedamixedblessing.Thosecompanieswouldnodoubtbewillingtouploadandstoreourbody-camdataforfree,
probablywith theassistanceofmachinelearningalgorithms(算法)---butatwhatcostto privacyandfreedomofchoice?Body-camdatacouldalsocreatealegalminefield.Disputesoverthe validity andinterpretationof policefootage(执法镜头)havealready surfaced. Eventually,eventsnotcaughtoncameracouldbetreatedasiftheydidn?
thappen,likeatreefallingintheforest.Alternatively,footagecouldbefakedordoctoredtoescapeblameorincriminate others.
Ofcourse, there?salwaystheargument that ifyou?
renotdoinganythingwrong,youhavenothingtofear.Butmostpeoplehavedonesomethingembarrassing,orevenillegal,thattheyregretandwouldpreferhadn?
tbeencaughtonfilm.Peoplealreadyinspecttheirsocialmediafeeds---oravoiddoinganythinginadequateinpublic---forfearofdamagingtheirreputation.Would
widespreadapplicationofbodycamshavea furtherfrighteningeffect on
ourfreedom?Thealways-on-cameraworldcouldeventhreatensomeofthenaturesthatmakeushuman.Wearenaturalgossipsandbackbiters,andwhilethosemightnotbedesirablebehavior,theyoilthewheelsofoursocialinteractions.Oncepeopleassumetheyarebeingfilmed,theyarelikelytoshutup.Wearenowherenearthatpointyetwhereeveryonewillfeeltheyne