A big moment. Although a week late, this morning at 7:20 the moving truck arrived at the door. In the days before, we sorted, packed, threw things away, and prepared ourselves—bit by bit each day. The delay was due to the kitchen not being finished.
The doorbell rings. Five strong, young men eager to get started dive into the boxes and furniture. Everything quickly disappears into a large MAN truck and is already being unloaded at the new house by 11:00. We are just moving within the city, so travel time is short. By 14:00 the five finish their work. Everything intact, everything in place. We sign, give a $50 tip, and everyone receives a bottle of vodka. Then we are alone. The unpacking begins. We won’t be finished today; tomorrow is another day.
Everything feels so different. Some of our furniture doesn’t quite fit the new rooms, but for now, it will do. I connect the TV and Yamaha system. At least we have music and pictures tonight. Around seven, we sit in the evening sun. She embraces me...radiant, settled, and so am I. The house is finished, our home is ready. We made it. Our first real house—not a row house like before, not a large apartment as a transition, but a house with a terrace, a space to walk around. Yes, now we are suburbanites, savers, homeowners, browsing garden center brochures. And that’s a good thing....Karsten
The doorbell rings. Five strong, young men eager to get started dive into the boxes and furniture. Everything quickly disappears into a large MAN truck and is already being unloaded at the new house by 11:00. We are just moving within the city, so travel time is short. By 14:00 the five finish their work. Everything intact, everything in place. We sign, give a $50 tip, and everyone receives a bottle of vodka. Then we are alone. The unpacking begins. We won’t be finished today; tomorrow is another day.
Everything feels so different. Some of our furniture doesn’t quite fit the new rooms, but for now, it will do. I connect the TV and Yamaha system. At least we have music and pictures tonight. Around seven, we sit in the evening sun. She embraces me...radiant, settled, and so am I. The house is finished, our home is ready. We made it. Our first real house—not a row house like before, not a large apartment as a transition, but a house with a terrace, a space to walk around. Yes, now we are suburbanites, savers, homeowners, browsing garden center brochures. And that’s a good thing....Karsten
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Bieber08153 Jan 2018 09:27kaho674 schrieb:
Is that really a problem? Many people lack the imagination to realize that even a liberal democratic rule of law can come to an end, and data collected in good faith can then be misused (this has happened in the past, with very serious consequences). Furthermore, Big Data leads to unimaginably greater possibilities for combining and analyzing data. This, in turn, opens the door to potential abuse. Life experience shows that whenever such opportunities exist, they will sooner or later be exploited. (Therefore, the smartest approach would be to stop the collection of data.)
Also worth noting here: Social Cooling – just look it up. Or "China social score."
Bieber0815 schrieb:
Many people lack the imagination to realize that a liberal democratic constitutional state could come to an end at some point. I don’t think the answer is that simple, nor are people universally unimaginative. The misuse is quite well known. However, it might be tolerated because the benefits are considered greater.
Bieber0815 schrieb:
Life experience shows that if such possibilities exist, sooner or later they will also be used. I believe it’s sooner rather than later, because we are right in the middle of it.
Bieber0815 schrieb:
(That’s why the smartest approach would be to stop the data collection.) Are you sure?I use Alexa only to listen to music and nothing else. Alexa supposedly only listens when you say "Alexa" first. In the app, only commands that started with "Alexa" are listed, and it only executes commands when "Alexa" is the first word.
Where do I buy my music? Amazon.
Where do I stream? Amazon.
So, they do not receive any new data from Alexa. Unless they find discussions about whether the teeth are properly brushed interesting.
The internet is not anonymous; loyalty cards for collecting points also gather data, and the German postal service is one of the largest data traders.
Where do I buy my music? Amazon.
Where do I stream? Amazon.
So, they do not receive any new data from Alexa. Unless they find discussions about whether the teeth are properly brushed interesting.
The internet is not anonymous; loyalty cards for collecting points also gather data, and the German postal service is one of the largest data traders.
That may be the case. However, I still prefer not to do that.
In the end, we would become completely dependent on a few large companies for everything—unnecessarily so. Just because we, who would otherwise secure the house with reinforced windows, let them into the living room and even the bedroom, revealing everything about ourselves.
Karsten
In the end, we would become completely dependent on a few large companies for everything—unnecessarily so. Just because we, who would otherwise secure the house with reinforced windows, let them into the living room and even the bedroom, revealing everything about ourselves.
Karsten
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chand19863 Jan 2018 22:56Bieber0815 schrieb:
Many people lack the imagination to realize that a liberal democratic constitutional state can come to an end, and that data collected seemingly harmlessly can then be misused (this has happened in the past, with very unfortunate consequences). Additionally, Big Data leads to unimaginably greater possibilities to combine and analyze data. This, in turn, opens the door wide to abusive use. Life experience shows that if such possibilities exist, sooner or later they will be used. (Therefore, it would be wisest to prevent data collection altogether.)What is also lacking is the imagination that the end of a liberal democratic constitutional state could be born out of a societal consensus, a birth we are currently witnessing – including with such “amusing experiments” as those discussed here.
I always recommend the two books by Yuval Noah Harari, *Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind* and *Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow*, to gain a broader perspective and a fresh viewpoint.
chand1986 schrieb:
There is also a lack of imagination that the end of the liberal democratic constitutional state could emerge from a social consensus, the birth of which we are currently witnessing – including such "amusing antics" as those being discussed here. When I listen to the nonsense from the CSU on the radio this morning, we are as far from a social consensus as from here to the nearest galaxy. However, one can hope that these dinosaurs will suddenly become extinct. Probably due to a "smart" satellite strike.