The month of June is upon us and on the 25th I'll be heading to Oxfordshire for a picnic beside the grave of Eric Arthur Blair. This will be the eighth year running where a number of us have made the pilgrimage to share in a conversation on George Orwell's birthday. A mini informal symposium. A chat around mass surveillance, consumer data and our civil liberties. Accompanied of course with … [Read more...] about Books on Privacy and Surveillance
big brother
Are we finally living in 1984?
How do you feel about the world we are creating right now? What were your thoughts when the #PRISM news hit the headlines and Edward Snowden appeared in your browser saying these words?.. "If living unfreely but comfortably is something you’re willing to accept, and I think many of us are, it’s the human nature, you can get up every day, you can go to work, you can collect your large paycheck … [Read more...] about Are we finally living in 1984?
The Future Of Social Networking
This is not science fiction. This technology exists in separate devices now. I know that, you know that, but show this to someone outside of social networking and other such geekery and it would blow their socks off. I remember earlier this year whilst touring with the GetAmbition team Bill Thompson talked about Augmented Reality enabled contact lenses. Miniature low powered lasers … [Read more...] about The Future Of Social Networking
The Perfect Prison
There is a quiet, dark revolution underway in Britain. It was happening yesterday, it's happening now - this minute. It will continue to happen tomorrow. Without anyone really noticing it we are becoming a police state. We're not quite there yet - it's a long way down to the real depths of secret police, social control, monitored movements - but we're blindly sleepwalking that path. George … [Read more...] about The Perfect Prison
Happy Birthday George Orwell
Once again it's June the 25th. I spent most of the day doing the same thing I did this time last year and this time the year before last.. I had a picnic at the Grave of Eric Arthur Blair aka George Orwell. Today is his birthday and for the last couple of years I've met with Dr John Perivolaris to pay our respects to the great writer and talk about the years events around surveillance and civil … [Read more...] about Happy Birthday George Orwell