I Don't Want Big Brother Watching Me At the Grocery Store

 First of all, I am the firstborn. Nothing can change that. I don't need "Big Brother" to watch me because I'm the big sister. I proudly did not have to experience that horrible event that was watching your older sibling get more privileges than you, because I was that sibling, thank you very much. 

The type of "Big Brother" I am talking about here is in reference to 1984's "Big Brother Is Watching You." I heard through word of mouth about something in the news about grocery stores rolling out digital price tags with- get this - cameras for facial recognition, which is greatly disturbing. This aspect of AI is the most disturbing of all I have heard that AI can do. Thankfully my local grocery stores use paper price tags, which makes me feel better. 

 This is only something that has been talked about in the news. If it's only a rumor going around, I don't take it seriously until I know that it is the truth or it is not the truth. However, I am going to give my opinion on the matter on this blog since it has been in the news rather than on social media. I have read that some stores have used digital price tags, which is OK. What I find disturbing is that someone proposed an idea to include with the digital price tags cameras to survey customers, facially recognize them, and based on their age, race, and demographic, play targeted ads to them as they shop, or charge them a different price. Cameras could also charge different prices depending on the time of day when the most customers come in to buy groceries. 

A member of Congress wrote a letter to Kroger with concerns about it and why they should not follow through with it. She stated that it is discriminatory, and that the stores would be using the system for the sake of greed, to profit as much as possible, in an unfair way. I would have those concerns, yes, but even more disturbing would be that the camera would know what your face looks like, and would build a profile of you and track you. I don't want the cameras to know what I look like, my name, my address, my job, my race, or anything else about me. That is creepy. I just want to walk into the store, buy what I need to buy at the same price as everyone else, and walk out. Just keep the price tags paper. This is where we need to push "pause" on the technology button before we destroy ourselves. I want privacy in my life. Privacy in my home, privacy at the store, privacy on the phone and online. I don't want strangers and the stranger robots to know about me without my permission. It boggles my mind why many people support targeted advertising, cookies (not the kind you bake), and personalized experiences at the expense of their privacy.  The computer and systems know their location, their exact phone devices, their bank information, and what they drive, and more about them than what needs to be known. This camera system is similar to The Giver, where the surveillance speakers existed in every corner of the city, and in every home, and they could not be turned off, the whole Community was listened to, every one of their conversations, and the government commented accordingly. "From every mountainside, let freedom ring." This system is not freedom. 

Well, I'm going to go and practice Igor Stravinsky on the clarinet, which is a non-AI activity. I will write more later. What do you think? So far it has not been in action, which is good.