Introduction

The other day I received a ´friend request´ for Facebook from a Real Life friend. Originally I mainly joined Facebook to do some research on social media but I always kept it low profile in an effort to keep some privacy: business contacts are traced via LinkedIn and I have no desire to show the whole world my not so flattering beach pictures. So I did not accept it. But does that make sense?

That question is part of a bigger one, namely what would happen if there were a world with full transparency? Earlier, I described integrity in https://peteralderliesten.com/2015/09/20/what-is-integrity/ and would full transparency not lead to full integrity? More specifically: what would happen if everybody in the world would carry a video recorder so that everything you hear and see, yes all actions, all words are recorded? What if all thoughts would be expressed as well by a next/generation device? Next to the recording, also useable search algorithms ensuring that the data is also accessible is part of such a world. What would be the meaning of in effect the end of privacy? Below an examination.

Where you are – transparency

The first part of transparency might be about one’s location, first of one´s belongings, second of oneself. Driving directions are a great feature, as is the location of my ipad in case I loose it. Some cars offer the feature of ‘Remote Services’ where your car can be found in this huge parking lot by honking it’s horn or flashing it’s lights. Stolen Vehicle Recovery is now a feature where these vehicles can be located for law enforcement, court order-based repossession of these vehicles was a logical next step. Multimillionaires already can have implants to trace their whereabouts, it is only a matter of time before this technology is available to also the lesser well-off.

A world of full transparency would mean that I would not be able to sneak out unnoticed to a motel with my mistress, burglar’s would have to explain their presence in any unauthorized home, fugitives would not be free any more, kidnaps virtually impossible, and lost children would always be found.

Still, there is a whole genre of movies about renegades fighting against an oppressing regime with overbearing strength from an underground – and secret – base. Apparently this possibility of evading a dictatorial central power appeals to a fundamental human desire/need. The possibility of government evasion by the powerless then would be given up.

Who you are – transparency

Another part of transparency is your demographic data. No more lying about age, no more glossing over any criminal records, no more driving around with expired driver´s licenses, or uninsured cars. Career swindlers will find it much more difficult to find gullible victims. Easy border passing , and getting rid of all those 5,000 different passwords, and finally room in your wallet for anything outside those membership cards. With all the new technologies from iris scans to Near Frequency Chips (NFC) this transparency is within the foreseeable future.

So far, these aspects seem fairly positive to me, but how about racial backgrounds that become immediately known: does everybody want that? Or the privacy of millionaires? Blackmail, kidnap etc. are all eradicated since actions and whereabouts are all known, but still, escaping your environment and living like a ‘normal’ mortal becomes impossible. The rich and famous will then be forced to also carry these unappealing consequences of their status. They will then still have the opportunity to give away their money, or stop joining ‘Dancing with the Stars’. (Although there are also people who are famous despite their own efforts.)

All salaries will be known, which might lead to an explosion in wages and might put several enterprises out of business, but would that not be just a temporary adjustment until everybody is used to this phenomenon?

Another thing is one’s DNA. Apparently studies have shown that 10% of all children is illegitimate. If the parents have made a ‘sidestep’ is it fair that the child is carrying that weight for the rest of her life? Also, there has already been a case where gay security officials were reported to select attractive male travelers for some ‘serious padding’; can then obviously-gay security officials still do their work? And there must be multiple other examples of negative or dubious effects of full transparency in demographic data.

What you said – transparency

Sometimes I wish I remembered what exactly I said, and how I said it. When going through an honest ‘Lessons Learned’ about a particular situation it would be so handy to just go back and review how something was said, how somebody felt at that time, and therefore what that choice of words and intonation did to the listener. It would be embarrassing to see one’s own words in full daylight, but also a possibility to review what really went on and thus what is needed to amend relations (or break them up properly).

In general, a public repository of everything that has been said in every situation would make deceit a good degree more difficult, no more backroom dealings, no more unknown side letters, no more hidden price fixing or deceit.

However, surprise party´s and other ´honest surprises´ would become more difficult as well. Would the world become boring? Or should there be a functionality that individuals can choose not to be informed about certain events? A kind of ‘opt-out’ of information, maybe even for a certain limited amount of time?

What you did and do – transparency

Traditional transparency would mean knowledge of all actions, paving the way for integrity between words and actions which can then be measured for each individual in the world. More and more public places are monitored by camera’s. These camera’s are used for all kinds of useful purposes like security, crowd control and border control. They have been enhanced with face recognition, identification an individual by his walk, object recognition so that a different color box highlights and differentiates moving animals from humans from cars. Walking patterns of crowds are identified to monitor their emotions and predict their movements. Some policemen already have all of their actions recorded, but there is no reason to believe that this would not be possible (or required) for all individuals.

The above already mentioned repeat swindler will have a tougher time to find victims because they know how he cheated on previous victims, habitual liars will be exposed, police investigations of accidents or felonies become superfluous, overly jealous spouses will find confirmation or denial of their fears, just for politicians nothing much will change.

Still, one defence for privacy is the question: “when was the last time you masturbated?” This reasoning is based on the existence of a taboo. In the course of time, taboos have dwindled, so they might very well disappear altogether. As soon as there are no more taboos, there would be no need for privacy. Also, it works the other way around: as soon as there is full transparency on actions, exposure to existing (innocent) taboos acted out will automatically lead to them becoming part of culture and acceptance of them. Taboos will become limited to those actions forbidden by the law.

Who you know – transparency

A further transparency would be who you know. Most of us already have accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Renren or Xing. Various other applications further detail the networks we have. With just a little bit of information on all of those that do not have their whole network documented, a relatively simple process of elimination and extension enables those with the necessary resources some pretty good guesstimate of the networks of all those missing links. This knowledge in turn can be used to identify the thoughts of person via the expressed thoughts of her social environment (or demographics). In a way this transparency supports a transparency between words and thoughts.

On the downside, one would be able to identify e.g. Falun Gong-members through association. I do not know whether the accusations of them being ‘farmed for body parts’ are correct, but it would make me very hesitant in forcing members of this group into publicity. More commonly known is that various religious groups have suffered under persecution under various dictatorial regimes and certain safety measures should be in place.

What you think – transparency

At this moment it is already known that through the measurement of electrical currents in a subject’s body, scientists can predict that subject’s decisions accurately before she herself is aware of them. From a business perspective this feature can help in identifying potential target groups: if one person in this group with these characteristics uses a product, the chances of selling the same product to the other group members are significantly higher. One could argue the ‘law of telemarketing’ here: to the degree the assumption about group buying effected by an individual is correct, the commercial offer will be successful and therefore repeated. If consumers buy it, then apparently a need is fulfilled, so the activity adds value to society as a whole; if consumers do not buy it, the activity will automatically disappear. Companies and governments will obtain incredible possibilities to plan the right roads, build the right houses on the right spots, and produce the right products at the right time at the right spot for the right price.

Wonderful. Great, so far. This transparency could ultimately lead to influencing, if not manipulation. And to what extent will there then still be free will? What happens if there is an error in this forecasting? What if the forecasting accuracy becomes so good and the volume of the resulting actions so large that this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy? What if Big Data combines all thoughts with all actions and words making everything predictable? And what if an individual would want to step out of such a treadmill, would it become physically impossible? Does this mean the end of individualism? And what if this tremendous power would be abused by a central party?

Conclusion

Looking back at the situation of full transparency described above, it becomes obvious that it offers tremendous advantages for mankind. Of course, there will be all kinds of uncertainties involved with all these new developments. At the same token, full transparency will lead to such a concentration of power that the effect – if not the likelihood – of abuse of this power increases dramatically as well. Each of these transparencies needs to be protected by a certain freedom, and the total constellation needs to be protected by a certain Balance of Power to ensure no single party can take advantage of the incredible potential that is unleashed. Which would make some sense anyway, but that is a different chapter.

The table below is an overview of the transparencies and their associated freedom.

Table Transparancy/Freedom

The degree to which we can take full advantage (in the sense of a value judgment) of transparency is determined by the degree of freedom in our society. Where the Western world is developing the technical prowess for ever-increasing transparency it also allows other societies to tag along – and in some cases jump ahead. Where transparency might add all these advantages to a free society, at the same time it is adding to the possibility to suppress in more dictatorial societies. Whereas the Western World develops it’s technical prowess, that also gives it the responsibility to ensure that technology is used wisely. Similarly, if technology firms will want to continue and develop their markets, they will need to overcome ever more resistance against the loss of privacy until freedom of oppression is guaranteed sufficiently in the societies they operate in. However, for now I think I can safely accept the friend request on Facebook.