This is one of the parts that has me most worried, personally. Distorted perceptions of crime rates are becoming an increasing issue because of tech like this and I worry it's going to affect...
But as entertaining as Neighbors is, it’s haunted by a background sense that maybe you don’t really need to know quite so much about your block, or your neighborhood. Moments you’d never have been aware of without the Ring — a stranger stepping on your stoop, or knocking on your door — mount as evidence of possible danger and urban decay. Even unquestionably innocuous activity, like me unlocking my own door, is lent the frisson of danger thanks to the security-camera-style footage.
It's also just such a perverseeconomy: the applications and tech are designed to offer extra security, but the result is creating more fear and more uncertainty. They are effectively, consciously or not, creating more demand for their product.
Great article and great links in your comment. This is so scary to me but at the same time kind of "duh". I'm really trying to convince people around me that cameras are not the solution to...
Great article and great links in your comment. This is so scary to me but at the same time kind of "duh". I'm really trying to convince people around me that cameras are not the solution to everything and to combat the argument of "security" but god damn it's hard.
Someone broke into my car and took about $500 worth of stuff I had in it about six months ago. I have a security camera (not a ring, but a traditional IP camera), which captured footage that I...
Someone broke into my car and took about $500 worth of stuff I had in it about six months ago. I have a security camera (not a ring, but a traditional IP camera), which captured footage that I handed over to the police. With the aid of that footage plus footage from a few of my neighbors they were able to catch the guy and recover my stuff.
I fail to see how the camera was not a solution for me. I'm glad I have the thing and I don't really see any compelling arguments to take it down.
I don't think anyone has claimed that a security camera is never a solution, but rather is not always one. Namely because there's not always a problem. Of course, if there is a problem you'll wish...
I don't think anyone has claimed that a security camera is never a solution, but rather is not always one. Namely because there's not always a problem. Of course, if there is a problem you'll wish you had one...
I actually think the issue is less the presence or even continued operation of the camera and moreso the near-continuous and easy interaction with the camera. This is more or less what the author is pointing out (to quote again from further up in the thread):
But as entertaining as Neighbors is, it’s haunted by a background sense that maybe you don’t really need to know quite so much about your block, or your neighborhood. Moments you’d never have been aware of without the Ring — a stranger stepping on your stoop, or knocking on your door — mount as evidence of possible danger and urban decay. Even unquestionably innocuous activity, like me unlocking my own door, is lent the frisson of danger thanks to the security-camera-style footage.
Our monkey brains are wired to game out the what-ifs and hypothetical of any interaction: maybe that rustle in the bush is a predator, maybe that guy I've seen pass a few times on my Ring is staking out his next target. I think the near constant access that these smart cameras provide does little to prevent crime and does everything to stoke paranoia and anxiety. This is not to mention the other personal and societal downsides of near constant surveillance - is it a good thing that Amazon (Ring) is likely building an extensive facial recognition database? Is it good that its trying to make us more suspicious of our neighbors? I don't really think so.
A dumb camera you use to track down a burglar is a great thing. A smart camera that tries to predict who might be one isn't.
I think this more has to do with the notifications the thing puts out. My camera system of course has motion sensing, but enabling notifications for every motion event is obviously silly. Maybe...
I think this more has to do with the notifications the thing puts out. My camera system of course has motion sensing, but enabling notifications for every motion event is obviously silly. Maybe the ring system comes like that out of the box?
It should seem obvious that you don't need to know every time a stray cat walks through your yard, or the mailman comes by, or you or your spouse comes home from work.
Even if the thing only alerted you when a bad guy with bad intentions was casing your house (despite the fact that there's no way a piece of technology could ever determine that), what would you even do about it at that very time?
If this is the default behavior of the system (and especially if it's not configurable), I would argue that this has less to do with security cameras and more to do with a stupidly designed specific product.
For me, the camera I have, in the specific configuration I have it in, has been nothing but positive. I check it if I notice there's something out of place, or if I talk to my neighbor and he asks me about something suspicious he saw, but other than that, I forget it's even there.
Yeah I think cameras should be a thing where you record until you need it, and then use it when you do, rather than a neurotic minute by minute notification about tree shadows moving across your...
Yeah I think cameras should be a thing where you record until you need it, and then use it when you do, rather than a neurotic minute by minute notification about tree shadows moving across your driveway. I don't know that it's not configurable, but it is certainly the default, and I think that's primarily what the thread is concerned with. I have a coworker with a camera system that notifies him and the amount of squirrels he has looked at per day is probably more than anyone should.
Amazon Ring is already manipulating their customers into feeling less safe: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/amazon-owned-ring-wants-report-crime-news/588394/ The article I linked...
the applications and tech are designed to offer extra security, but the result is creating more fear and more uncertainty.
This is one of the parts that has me most worried, personally. Distorted perceptions of crime rates are becoming an increasing issue because of tech like this and I worry it's going to affect people's political decisions and mental health in negative ways. Or much, much worse.
It's also just such a perverseeconomy: the applications and tech are designed to offer extra security, but the result is creating more fear and more uncertainty. They are effectively, consciously or not, creating more demand for their product.
Great article and great links in your comment. This is so scary to me but at the same time kind of "duh". I'm really trying to convince people around me that cameras are not the solution to everything and to combat the argument of "security" but god damn it's hard.
Someone broke into my car and took about $500 worth of stuff I had in it about six months ago. I have a security camera (not a ring, but a traditional IP camera), which captured footage that I handed over to the police. With the aid of that footage plus footage from a few of my neighbors they were able to catch the guy and recover my stuff.
I fail to see how the camera was not a solution for me. I'm glad I have the thing and I don't really see any compelling arguments to take it down.
I don't think anyone has claimed that a security camera is never a solution, but rather is not always one. Namely because there's not always a problem. Of course, if there is a problem you'll wish you had one...
I actually think the issue is less the presence or even continued operation of the camera and moreso the near-continuous and easy interaction with the camera. This is more or less what the author is pointing out (to quote again from further up in the thread):
Our monkey brains are wired to game out the what-ifs and hypothetical of any interaction: maybe that rustle in the bush is a predator, maybe that guy I've seen pass a few times on my Ring is staking out his next target. I think the near constant access that these smart cameras provide does little to prevent crime and does everything to stoke paranoia and anxiety. This is not to mention the other personal and societal downsides of near constant surveillance - is it a good thing that Amazon (Ring) is likely building an extensive facial recognition database? Is it good that its trying to make us more suspicious of our neighbors? I don't really think so.
A dumb camera you use to track down a burglar is a great thing. A smart camera that tries to predict who might be one isn't.
I think this more has to do with the notifications the thing puts out. My camera system of course has motion sensing, but enabling notifications for every motion event is obviously silly. Maybe the ring system comes like that out of the box?
It should seem obvious that you don't need to know every time a stray cat walks through your yard, or the mailman comes by, or you or your spouse comes home from work.
Even if the thing only alerted you when a bad guy with bad intentions was casing your house (despite the fact that there's no way a piece of technology could ever determine that), what would you even do about it at that very time?
If this is the default behavior of the system (and especially if it's not configurable), I would argue that this has less to do with security cameras and more to do with a stupidly designed specific product.
For me, the camera I have, in the specific configuration I have it in, has been nothing but positive. I check it if I notice there's something out of place, or if I talk to my neighbor and he asks me about something suspicious he saw, but other than that, I forget it's even there.
Yeah I think cameras should be a thing where you record until you need it, and then use it when you do, rather than a neurotic minute by minute notification about tree shadows moving across your driveway. I don't know that it's not configurable, but it is certainly the default, and I think that's primarily what the thread is concerned with. I have a coworker with a camera system that notifies him and the amount of squirrels he has looked at per day is probably more than anyone should.
Amazon Ring is already manipulating their customers into feeling less safe:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/05/amazon-owned-ring-wants-report-crime-news/588394/
The article I linked also mentions data about the disparity between crime rates and perception you mentioned.