15 Minutes of Privacy

15 Minutes of Privacy

Andy Warhol quoted that, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”. Well, as we all know, this quote has perhaps flipped, and we might expect just 15 minutes of privacy in the future. Our every click, our every purchase, and our every thought can now be captured by the Internet. For every online platform, there are hundreds of advertising affiliates that bid for our data — and target adverts just for us.

Recently I went to the dentist, and had no real digital footprint, apart from a text message from them, but, for days, my web pages were full of adverts for tooth implants and whitening products. I may be wrong, too, but you just have to think something, and adverts will appear (I appreciate that it is probably the other way around, but it just feels like the Internet knows what you are thinking).

And, so, where in the world are we truly free of spying? In your car? Well, not quite, as we tend to leave our GPS on, and where Apple or Google (or both) can basically find out where we shop, where we work, and where we like to go on our days off. And the car, too, is becoming a whole lot more connected, and where you can even lock your car from the other side of the world. But, our smart cars can now basically stream their data to provide live information. For this, it has been found that ex-employees from Tesla have been sharing recordings from cars in chat rooms. This included a child being hit by a car and a naked man approaching a car, along with a number of crashes and road-rage incidents. Overall, Tesla has said that these videos are anonymous, and cannot be linked to owners. But, some say that the location of the videos can be traced, and then linked to the possible location of the driver.

The worry of some is that cars could become a giant spying network, such as could be used for the Ring doorbells (and where law enforcement can use recorded footage in investigations). A parked car, of course, could be used within investigations, but the video recording service for parked cars was switched off by Tesla a few years ago.

But, on the flip side, video footage from a car could be used to map an area for hazards or within the data labeling of roadside objects, such as for speed signs and potholes. These data labeling exercises could then be used by others on the road, and train improved models.

Conclusions

For Tesla and other smart car manufacturers, there is a tightrope to walk. The more data that comes from the car, the better their machine-learning models will become, and every single piece of data could breach privacy laws. So, manufacturers have a privacy agreement that owners agree to. But when was the last time you read a privacy statement from your car? For security and safety, too, the use of live capture and storage could help reduce crime and accidents, but again it can come at the price of our safety. And, finally, your car data says so much about you and would be worth so much to those who want to sell you products and services. So, say hello, to the smart car, and its hyperconnectivity.