Scary “Big Brother-esque” video surveillance system announced by the City of Chicago and IBM. Now we can watch Grossman drop footballs no matter where he’s located. [Ars Technica]
More From Consumerist
-
Nope, It’s Not Legal To Hunt Deer In The Walmart Parking Lot
-
Seeing Your Son Succeed In Life Shouldn't Include Helping Him Shoplift $5 Million In Items
-
Brother Sends My Printer On Vacation In Florida, Not Back To Me
-
The End Of A Gaming Era: Sony Says The Last PlayStation 2 Has Shipped
-
Walmart Sells Fake Display Model iPad, Won’t Exchange It For Real One
This isn’t anything new-they’ve had a system like this for awhile now in London, only theirs can recognize faces, too.
Geez. Did anybody read the Chung Kuo books by David Wingate?
They already have cameras in high-risk neighborhoods, like Cabrini-Green (still a high-risk neighborhood, even though Cabrini-Green itself is no more), plus the red light cameras (which they could use more of, considering that just about EVERYBODY runs red lights in Chicago).
As a loyal Bears fan, that Grossman comment is by far the funniest (and most painful) commentary I’ve seen in months.
I tend to doubt this will be effective except to seperate the City of Chicago from more tax payers money. Police will always be the best way to keep the peace, etc.
In London, there appears to be a negative correlation between the number of cameras and crime.
@flywithsteve: Thank you. Bear down.
Personally I am sick of the further unencumbered and unchecked advances of police state busybody mentalities. I am wondering what is next:
- Us being sent tickets every time we move .5 miles above a speed limit at any time because they will start putting GPS in our cars for our “safety”
- Taxing us when we drive outside certain city “zones” based on our home zip code
- Sensors (hidden mics or cams) in apartments or homes to pick up “invalid” or “threatening” conversations, and having police visit us
- Hidden cams on every store shelf to “make sure” we are shopping properly and aren’t a “potential security threat” (not to mention harass us more effectively with constant advertising for more or cometing products)
- Sensors in public or workplace bathrooms to report on us whether we cleaned our hands or wiped up enough…
- Sensors under our chairs at work to report how often we talked, how often we were viewing or typing at the monitor…can you just imagine? Your boss calls you in suddenly and says:
“I’m very concerned that your chair time spent facing away from the monitor is at 12.57%. What EXACTLY were you doing all those times? Huh? Office guidelines stipulate YOU MUST be working 98.34 percent of the time!”
Again, why is technology being designed by companies like IBM to micromanage and micro-harass our lives to the point whre we have no choices, no control, and no say-so in our own fate?
And if those of you reading don’t believe me, just go look at the patents they own!!!!
I have to wonder if this has anything remotely to do with the big IBM/Microsoft data center they run in Chicago next door to McCormick center. It is a really odd operation. Half of the building has paper taped over the windows and the activity day and night in the sections that are not blocked from view was interesting. It is in some huge former military building.
I have to wonder if their presence there has something to do with Chicago being picked for the project.
They already have lots of cameras down in the Navy Pier area.
Just another reason for me to move in 2 years.
Keep up the great work, Daley!