This is about as creepy as it gets, folks. You know it’s weird when corporate bigwigs actually think the American people will acquiesce on something as outrageous as this proposal. The scary thing is; the American people will probably do just that.
Better put on your special, industrial strength tinfoil hat for this tale.
Comcast is now experimenting with new camera technology capable of transforming your cable box into a dual-purpose machine. Oh sure, your cable signal will still work as good as ever and as if nothing else is going on inside that innocuous looking little box sitting near your TV set. But, that perception of innocuousness will belie the fact that something else is going on inside that box; something much more sinister, and it's happening right in your living room.
I couldn’t find much about this on the internet other than the eerily similar generic 500-word articles on several blogs and AOL News. It seems to me that I saw a blurb about this at Wired.com a week or so ago but I went back and checked and couldn’t find it. Regardless, it’s clear to me that Comcast is sending out some kind of trial balloon in order to gauge public reaction to this overtly intrusive Big Brother technology.
It would be my fervent wish to see an outpouring of nationwide public outrage at just the thought of a corporate camera in your living room or bedroom, watching your every move; able to distinguish between you and members of your family. And, we’re not talking about heat-sensitive or infrared cameras either.
The camera technology would utilize what’s known as body-form-recognition that would be able to tell who is in the room based on the shape of your body and that of your other family members as well. Now, mind you; Comcast claims to provide this newest service Orwellian twist only as a means to provide custom-tailored service, and of course custom tailored advertising. The service customizations include the process in which Comcast tailors programming to fit family members’ specific tastes and security settings when children are involved.
Facial recognition is not yet in the works. (thank God)
AOL News has the story:
We should be clear: This is all in the experimental phase. There has been no consumer testing and Gerard Kunkel, Comcast's senior VP of User Experience, stresses that any final decision is predicated on the boxes providing more to the viewer than just precision advertising.
Ok, so I don’t know about anybody else but my spidey-senses went to tingling when I read this story. It’s disturbing to think that a huge corporation wants to install a camera in my home capable of tracking my every move.
Custom Tailored. Security. Efficient. Your New Best Friend. Now You Can Leave the Kids At Home With Super Cable Nanny! Those are hypothetical buzz-words and -phrases Comcast will most likely lay on in hearty layers if and when it begins to roll out this new technology.
Note: In the interest of fairness, here's a kind of a non-denial denial from Gerard Kunkel @ NewTeeVee on the "take" from the original article.
Geez, how many trucks could ya drive through that "denial?"
Anyway, I hope everyone in this country pauses for a gut check before even considering this sort of outrageous breach of personal privacy.
Fight the Future!
Peace