Why Spielberg's Scared
'Big Brother Is Watching Us Now' -- And It Will Get Worse, Director Says In directing his new thriller, Minority Report, Spielberg has had a lot of time to contemplate where mankind is headed, and he's come to the conclusion that the loss of privacy to the peering eye of law enforcement is inevitable. [ ... ] Cruise also agrees that the future holds a loss of privacy. He worries that the powers that may be given law enforcement to fight terrorism now may never be rescinded. "Like anything, it becomes the norm," he says. "Once you get that machine going it is a dilemma, because we need it, and yet on the other hand, I don't even think the public realizes ultimately what they're going to be giving up in terms of their personal freedom." [ABC news via Privacy Digest]
I can hardly wait to see this movie. Futurist have a hard time with predictions because of tectonic events that shift society from one direction to another. I agree with Spielberg that we are seeing an erosion of our freedoms and that once given away it becomes difficult to get them back. For a different approach, I suggest that you grab a copy of Transparent Society by David Brin. He argues from a ninety degree perspective that total openess would give us more freedom.
The problem is personal accountability. Our society is all about avoiding accountability, masking and hiding it under layers of misdirection. It's this reason that we hire so many consultants to tell us what to do. What we get is someone outside the organization to blame when things go wrong. I think Brin is on target, but I'm not sure if the horse will ever drink the water...mj
9:16:57 AM 
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