TWC week 5 kicked start with a video of Milo, a virtual being from Project Natal who was interacting with Claire (human being). I was fascinated at how he was able to exhibit very human-like characteristics. Although there were some problems with the logic of flow in his response to Claire’s questions, it seemed so surreal as though I was staring right at a virtual presence of a future me. The prospect of being able to communicate to a virtual interface is simply amazing.
This also led to a discussion on kinect, a gaming technology that has been linked with windows interface. With such interactive features in place, it is very easy for us to kill 2 birds with 1 stone ie playing games while keeping fit (to a certain extent by having to jump about or swing your arms madly). Or on a more global and useful scale, military training such as range practice (simulation of the actual live firing) which I partook not too long ago, flight simulation exercises for airforce pilots and architectural 3D practice can be derived from such a technology. Incredible? Definitely.
What left a lasting impression on me was the concept of wireless technology where data could be transmitted from one device to another via wifi, mifi (wireless wifi) or 3G technology. Paula’s article, which was on transmission of data from 1 Ford vehicle to the next could really help commuters take a more informed decision of which route to take in case of a jam or even an accident.
This actually led to the issue of privacy. Yes, Big Brother is watching but I believe privacy is overrated. I mean, is letting someone know of your whereabouts or even cookies (not biscuits, data packets) from a website such a concern to you? Definitely not. In fact, many people are already using 4square on their iphones to “check in”, an idea which I find quite nonsensical (pardon me, apple fans). I seriously don’t see a purpose in letting others know what a social animal you are. No doubt a line has to be a drawn. But insofar as our national security is upheld, I’m willing to give up part of my privacy. As in the case of equivalent trade, one always have to give up something for the other. As the saying goes, there is no such thing as free food in the world. How true.
To end off with a quote:
As a social good, I think privacy is greatly overrated because privacy basically means concealment. People conceal things in order to fool other people about them. They want to appear healthier than they are, smarter, more honest and so forth.
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