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Reciprocal transparency
Brin's viewpoint is mostly on the money, but with a few exceptions. Yes, we
need to know who is observing us - and in a way that can be processes by
programs. Some things will be negotiable, others will not, but if we know
what the contract is, we can make decisions. This is reciprocal
transparency with a little bit more - a platform for negotiation (a pet
subject of mine).
I agree that we risk overreaction. I fear that the recent spate of
gratuitous attention to internet privacy by politicians seeking office (and
lame ducks, too!) will lead to ill-considered legislation. This looks a lot
like the other side of the "Decency" coin.
I cannot agree that eccentricity is favored by western society. Maybe
eccentricity that is trivial, sterile and inconsequential. Society chooses
what eccentricity to accept. I will not for a minute drop my guard against
society's enourmous impulse to enforce a stupid and boring normalcy on it's
constituents, and I am not willing to accept the parameters of eccenticity
that society will grant me.
Freedom has always depended on speed and stealth as much as righteousness
and law. There will always be significant forces for change that could not
survive if they could not escape detection. Even ordinary citizens in their
everyday lives play a presumably cat-and-mouse game with authorities. Do
you feel guilty when you exceed the speed limit but don't get caught? Would
you rather choose what you tell your priest in the confession booth, or just
place a web-cam in your house for her to view?
Reciprocal transparency is probably the only choice we have left now that
the cat is out of the bag, but the world will look a lot different from
inside a fishbowl, and it will be a struggle to maintain our freedom.
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