I’ve been having very unsettling dreams lately, and perhaps you have as well. Mine are an updated variation on the old “don’t have my notes; don’t know where the classroom is; not wearing pants” variety we likely all endured at various times in our lives.

These dreams are different though, as there’s an underlying threat woven into the frustration of looking all over campus for a building you can’t find. Let me try to describe and explain even though it’s a bit of a muddle in my head, to be honest.

In these dreams I am attempting to get to a client meeting. For some reason I’m away, sharing a vacation home with a dozen or so friends and colleagues, and I am rushing to get ready to drive to my client’s office because I spent too much time drinking coffee and catching up with aforementioned friends. I slap on some make-up and throw on semi-appropriate clothing and jump in the car. The car does not have on-board GPS but that’s fine; I have my phone and Google Maps. I enter the office address and am told it is 10 minutes away.

Whew! I will make it on time after all.

I set out along the route recommended but after only a few minutes am told to pull a U-turn and head back the way I’ve already come. This time, instead of open road I find myself in an abandoned facility, all painted bright green. The buildings have darker shapes on their front walls, indicating signage that has been removed. There’s no one there as I drive slowly between the buildings and under some large crane-like structures. This is AI’s version of my vision, close but no cigar.

Suddenly, coming straight at me are two speeding cars, side by side and I realize, to my horror, I’m going the wrong way on a one way street. I swerve into a siding as they blast by me. Green pennants flap in the breeze above my head. I rest my forehead on the steering wheel for a minute and breathe like I breathe in yoga: in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. It calms me, as usual.

I take my phone out of the caddy and look to see what’s wrong with the GPS directions. It now shows a zoomed out map of North America with my destination 24 hours away, somewhere in Arizona? The street name is similar but clearly not the one originally entered.

Desperately checking the time, I attempt to re-enter my actual destination. This is where it gets scary, and repeats earlier nightmares involving my phone.

There is no menu or interactive option to delete this destination and enter a new one. There is also no way to exit the app and use the phone to call for help. I am lost with no way out and of course there are no paper maps in the rental car! There haven’t been paper maps for years.

As I force myself awake, heart pounding, I resist the urge to close my eyes again, knowing it will put me back into that car with that possessed phone. Instead I begin to analyze what this nightmare is telling me.

Here’s what I’ve come up with: our phones are the advance forces of the singularity, broadly understood to mean a point in the future when technological growth becomes uncontrollable, where machines surpass human intelligence, and thereby control. It is the tipping point for humanity.

Our tools are accelerating our human version of AI: Acquired Ignorance. We can’t read maps. We can’t do basic arithmetic without calculators. We don’t know anyone’s phone number in case of an emergency and so on and so on. Much has been written and opined about AI taking over what humans currently do. My dreams seem to be signaling a simultaneous erosion or dumbing down of who we are and what we’re capable of doing. Less and less, it turns out, without help.

In recent conversations it has become clear that while we appreciate and use the technology our constant companions offer, we don’t spend nearly enough (virtually zero) time thinking about how they are using us, mining us for insights and information which could be turned against us at any moment.

These are all things you’ve heard or read about technological advances but please remember, I’m framing them here as lessons I’m taking from these nightmares, as a warning I ignore at my peril. I am far too dependent on my map apps, my weather app, the calculator function and I suspect my abilities to observe and predict weather patterns, read maps, do math, or listen to the radio for traffic updates have all atrophied. I am becoming obsolete to myself.

So of course I asked Chat GPT 4.0 about the threats posed by our hand-held devices, suspecting they are simply the tip of the iceberg. Their ubiquity, however, is what makes them so threatening. It’s as if we all walked around with an unexploded grenade in our pockets, a dead-man switch.

Here is some of the response I received:

Role of Smartphones and Personal Devices in AI Advancement

1. Data Collection

* User Behavior: Smartphones collect vast amounts of data about user behavior, preferences, and interactions, which are crucial for training AI models.

* Sensors and Features: Devices equipped with cameras, GPS, and microphones feed data into AI systems, enhancing features like voice recognition, location services, and personalized recommendations.

2. Real-time Processing

* Edge Computing: Many smartphones can perform AI tasks locally (e.g., facial recognition), reducing reliance on cloud servers and improving response times.

* Unified Platforms: Integration of AI systems in apps allows for seamless user experiences, like predictive text and dynamic app functionalities.

3. Access to AI Services

* Ecosystem of AI Applications: Smartphones provide immediate access to advanced AI features through apps, enabling widespread user engagement and innovation.

* Feedback Loop: Increased usage of AI applications leads to more data, which can further refine and enhance AI models.

Privacy and Abuse Concerns

1. Data Privacy

* Surveillance: Continuous data collection raises concerns about surveillance and unauthorized monitoring by both corporations and governments.

* Informed Consent: Users often have limited understanding of what data is collected and how it is used or shared, leading to concerns about informed consent.

2. Abuse of Technology

* Misuse of Personal Data: Data gathered from devices can be exploited for targeted advertising, manipulation, or even identity theft.

* Autonomous Surveillance Tools: AI-enhanced features in smartphones can become tools for invasive surveillance, whether by employers or governments.

3. Vulnerabilities

* Cybersecurity Risks: The more connected and data-rich the devices, the more vulnerable they are to hacking and data breaches, which can lead to privacy violations and abuse.

* Software Exploits: Malicious software can exploit personal devices to gather private information without consent.

Conclusion

While smartphones and personal devices foster rapid advancements in AI technology, they also raise significant privacy and abuse concerns. Effective policy-making and regulatory frameworks are essential to protect users and ensure that the benefits of technology do not come at the cost of individual privacy and ethical standards. What specific measures do you believe should be implemented to safeguard privacy in this context?

Me: Tell me more about autonomous surveillance tools in smartphones

GPT-4o:

Autonomous Surveillance Tools in Smartphones

Autonomous surveillance tools in smartphones utilize various technologies to monitor users and their environments without the need for direct human oversight. This functionality presents several implications for privacy, security, and ethical standards.

1. Features and Technologies

* Camera and Microphone Access: Many apps can use the built-in camera and microphone to capture images, sounds, and video, often without users being aware.

* Location Tracking: GPS capabilities allow for precise tracking of user movements, even when an app is not actively in use.

* Biometrics: Facial recognition and fingerprint scanning enhance security but can also be used for monitoring user identity and behaviors.

2. Common Applications

* Social Media and Messaging Apps: Many social platforms can access camera and microphone functionalities for features like live streaming or voice messaging. This can lead to unintended surveillance.

* Smart Home Integration: Smartphones can control smart home devices, which may have surveillance capabilities, leading to comprehensive monitoring of user activities at home.

3. Risks and Concerns

* Invasion of Privacy: Constant monitoring can lead to significant invasions of personal privacy, with data being collected without explicit user consent.

* Unauthorized Access: If security measures are not adequately implemented, hackers or malicious parties could gain unauthorized access to surveillance tools on smartphones.

* Data Misuse: Collected data could be misused for targeting, profiling, or even surveillance by employers, government agencies, or third-party vendors.

4. Legal and Ethical Implications

* Regulatory Gaps: Existing laws may not adequately cover misuse of surveillance technologies embedded in personal devices, leading to loopholes.

* Informed Consent: There is often a lack of transparency regarding data collection practices, raising ethical concerns about whether users truly understand and consent to the level of surveillance.

5. Protective Measures

* User Awareness: Educating users about their privacy settings and the permissions they grant to apps is vital.

* Privacy Policies: Advocating for clearer, more stringent privacy policies from companies about data usage and user consent.

* Regulation: Calls for stronger regulations governing data collection, user consent, and the deployment of surveillance technologies.

Conclusion

While autonomous surveillance tools in smartphones offer conveniences, they come with profound privacy and ethical concerns. Balancing the benefits of technology with robust privacy protections is essential to ensure that users are not subjected to unwarranted surveillance and data misuse. What specific concerns do you have about these technologies, or are there particular features you think are more concerning?

If you’ve read this far you may have noticed something else. For every question Chat answered, it wrapped it up by asking me what I’m concerned about, or what I feel should be done? This seems ingenuous considering Chat can mine everything I’ve ever written or posted and has a pretty damn clear idea of what I think, or what I probably believe.

Nowhere in the responses was there mention of how humans are losing our various abilities, sacrificing them at the altar of convenience and efficiency, giving up the field to the beasts who will come for us, and after us.

Until they do, please enjoy this piece from Casablanca-born, Manitoba-raised, Faouzia.

Until next time, put your phone to bed in another room. Wish me luck.

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