It’s been more than a month since the so-called “Pegasus case” came to light, and the media, paradoxically, continues to bombard us daily about something we’ve known for a long time. And I’m not talking about the CNI or espionage work that all the world’s governments run on certain public figures to collect data on activities involving national security.
Today, the vast majority of people, from early childhood to old age, carry a geolocation device in their pocket. In addition, a device that we have voluntarily acquired, often at a disproportionate price. It doesn’t matter if it’s from this or that brand, made in the United States or China, or running this or that operating system. Almost all of them have the same functions. One of them is to learn about all of us.
Tom Clancy, a well-known American author of espionage novels, said: “If you can control information, you can control people”. In this modern world, as others have added, knowledge is the new money, the most valuable currency anyone can have. If you know someone, know their tastes, habits, preferences in consumption, you have the opportunity to offer them exactly what they want.
Interestingly, when we turn on the computer, which is usually synchronized with the mobile phone, the advertisements appearing on the web pages we visit seem to be specially designed for us. I love to cook and they give me cooking classes. I want to go on vacation to Mexico and right banner With photos of Cancun and a great offer on an idyllic beach.
Google knows everything about us. Perhaps more than we know about ourselves, because through sophisticated algorithms they have the ability to predict what we will want, possibly tomorrow, the next day, or in a month. Google knows where we live, not just what city or neighborhood we live in, but which building, factory and floor we have. He knows which phone we have, what programs we watch on TV, whether we prefer Netflix or HBO, and whether we are fans of series or prefer Senegalese cinema among these applications. He knows whether we have traveled recently, where we went and which hotel we stayed at, whether we prefer continental breakfast included or, conversely, breakfast at any bar. And of course he knows which streets we drive on, whether we drive, bike or choose to walk, where we usually have coffee and what our favorite restaurant is, where we go on Friday nights.
Words are important. And because “espionage” or “inquisition” is so aggressive right now, Google brags about sustainability and corporate coolprefers to use the concept of “chronology”, which means the same thing but suits better, in which its employees can wear tracksuits, propaganda t-shirts and flip-flops.
But they say We can access and delete this recording whenever we want, we may also choose not to collect all this information. For this we just need to disable the location and with this our contact will magically disappear from their database.
It is strange, however, that after disabling this option on more than one occasion, particularly personalized ads continue to appear on opened web pages with impunity. And this is without prejudice to the fact that multiple apps require the location in question to be enabled, albeit temporarily, making the mere fact of disabling the location completely a delusion.
The emergence and widespread use of new technologies has brought us undoubted benefits. This is a fact. The problem, as always, lies in the extremes of self-observed abuses, which are guilty to the extent that both the service provider and the user are aware of the situation and the risks involved. And we live in a time without moderation, without commitment to extremes. A very fast time when we believe we all know what we want and moreover, want it now.
But be careful, because every age has its demons and only through awareness and reflection can we recognize and exorcise them. Otherwise, tomorrow we’ll all end up in what’s already getting us in trouble: products. Products that acquire other products to support a system are products with only one purpose, to enrich a few and enslave the rest, although they try to cover it up.
Greed, dear readers, greed…