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Future

The Hidden Tyranny Of "The Internet Of Things"

Connecting it all
Connecting it all
Ronaldo Lemos

-OpEd-

SAO PAULO — Imagine the following situation: You go to the bathroom, but because you're in a hurry, you head toward the exit without washing your hands. As you try to open the door, you notice that it has locked automatically. An alarm bell sounds. Only then you understand that the door won't open until you press the soap button and wash your hands.

It may sound like fiction, but this technology already exists and is in use. It's called the Safeguard Germ Alarm.

This is one of the least visible aspects of the so-called "Internet of things," namely its use for social control. Objects of all kinds that we use daily — from refrigerators, fans and irons to locks, cars, chairs, even our beds — soon will be fitted with sensors and made capable of connecting to the Internet.

The refrigerator will warn you when you're running out of milk; your bed will tell health care services that you haven't been sleeping well; and the bathroom will lock you in to basic hygiene habits.

Embedded as it is with political visions, this technology is far from neutral. In a recent op-ed for The New York Times, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt suggested the creation of the equivalent of "spell checkers" for hate speech and harassment on the Internet. Some speech interfaces already include such controls that automatically correct words and censor profanity.

And what about "behavior checkers"? Fitness tracker bracelets, which encourage people to exercise and eat well, are a good example. A better one is Pavlok, branded as "the first behavior change wearable that breaks bad habits." It promises to help users change their evil ways within five days, in large part by releasing electric shocks. The device comes with three pre-loaded apps, including one called Wake Up, whose aim is just what it sounds like.

Another Pavlok app is called Productive, which is meant to monitor online habits, punishing users when they're distracted from their work. There's also Fit, which follows diet and exercise routines and disciplines users who don't meet their goals. As the company says, "Pavlok doesn't just track what you do. It transforms who you are."

This type of system makes individuals accountable for the full weight of their "failures," but ignores the deeper causes to many issues. In the words of technology writer Evgeny Morozov: "Politics cease to be a common adventure and turn into an individualistic show for the consumer, in which we entrust the search for social solutions to apps."

One in three people don't wash their hands after using the bathroom. You can take my word for it that locking the door automatically isn't going to solve that issue. And remember, many a tyranny in history originated from a desire to do good.

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Society

Violence Against Women, The Patriarchy And Responsibility Of The Good Men Too

The femicide of Giulia Cecchettin has shaken Italy, and beyond. Argentine journalist Ignacio Pereyra looks at what lies behind femicides and why all men must take more responsibility.

photo of a young man holding a sign: Filippo isn't a monster, he's the healthy son of the patriarchy

A protester's sign referring to the alleged killer reads: Filippo isn't a monster, he's the healthy son of the patriarchy

Matteo Nardone/Pacific Press via ZUMA Press
Ignacio Pereyra

Updated Dec. 3, 2023 at 10:40 p.m.

-Essay-

ATHENS — Are you going to write about what happened in Italy?, Irene, my partner, asks me. I have no idea what she's talking about. She tells me: a case of femicide has shaken the country and has been causing a stir for two weeks.

As if the fact in itself were not enough, I ask what is different about this murder compared to the other 105 women murdered this year in Italy (or those that happen every day around the world).

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

We are talking about a country where the expression "fai l'uomo" (be a man) abounds, with a society so prone to drama and tragedy and so fond of crime stories as few others, where the expression "crime of passion" is still mistakenly overused.

In this context, the sister of the victim reacted in an unexpected way for a country where femicide is not a crime recognized in the penal code, contrary to what happens, for example, in almost all of Latin America.

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