Computers: With and Without

by DGM

In Freedom Downtime, Evil Corley talks of what Kevin Mitnick's crimes would be without a computer.  I found this way of thinking very interesting and would like to use it to examine many other things in the computer-related world.

1.)  In an episode of Off The Hook, a type of filtering program that uses "quilting" methods was discussed.  This "quilting" method was said to edit out the inappropriate content on a page while leaving the suitable content undisturbed.  The possibilities of this type of program being misused was also discussed.  It was talked about how someone could block content without your knowledge and the power to do so could be abused.

The situation as it is now with a computer:

I believe that many people who end up using the program will not see the harmful aspects.  They will probably see it as a better way to stop their kids from entering certain websites.  If the program gets popular, schools and businesses will do the same.

The situation without computers:

Let's switch the computer with a library.

It's a fair switch considering they are both resources used to learn new information.  Now, say that you go to a library and check out a book only to find words crossed out.  Most people would go to a librarian and ask what the problem is.

Imagine if they told you they decided to edit the books because they found the content unsuitable.  This library wouldn't last too long running like this.  Besides, who is going to take out a book that reads: "Once upon a time <content edited>.  So he <content edited>".  If comparing a computer to a library still sounds weird to you, think of the librarian as the system administrator and the books as the content on the websites.

You go to the library (logging on to a computer and going online) and find parts of books have been edited out (the websites that have been edited by the new "quilting" filter software) by the librarians (the administrator who is deciding what to block).  I find this filtering method worse than ones that block websites completely because they could be used to alter the meaning of a text.  It's unfortunate that the flaws of a system like this would be more widely noticed if it wasn't just related to computers.

2.)  The e-mail service provided by Google is widely popular.  One part of Gmail that some people do not like is that advertisements are sent based on your email's content.  Some find this an invasion of privacy.

The situation as it is now with a computer:

People who question this advertisement method at first sometimes change their mind once they hear that it is only a computer that reads their email.  They feel safe knowing only a machine is going through their mail and decide there is no reason to question it any longer.

The situation without computers:

Despite the facts, some people think the computer and Internet are private places.

Let's switch the computer with your home.  You go about your business in what you think is the privacy of your house but then receive advertisements based on what you do there.  After a few of these advertisements, you would probably get the feeling that someone was spying on you.  Now let's look at the issue of a machine watching you.

Instead of a computer, let's say someone hid cameras inside your house.  From the feedback, the company would choose what advertisements to send.  It's not a person watching you, so does that make it all right?  I say no.

Plus, every computer/machine has an operator, so even if the initial data is recorded by a computer, there still could be someone looking at it later.  I feel what Google does is a bit like spying and I don't think just because it is on the Internet it should be treated any different than spying in real life.

I hope this article shows how much our viewpoint can change if there is a computer involved.  Sometimes the non-computer counterpart is quite similar to the situation involving a computer.  Still, people often look at the two situations completely differently.  If they thought along the lines of this article, maybe they could come up with more reasonable solutions to the problems/debates computers bring.