A Recorded Life?

QuikSand · 03-01-2006, 02:09 PM

Some time ago, I read a novel called The Truth Machine, which I found to be fairly entertaining and very provocative. Recommended, if you are so inclined.

Anyway - in this book, set in a speculative near future - there was a pretty incidental concept that never got explored all that fully, but was intriguing to me. In the book, there had been technology invented and implemented to allow people to choose to lead a "recorded life." Basically, everything they did and said was captured by some sort of device (I think in the book it was something in the wristwatch neck of the woods), and those recordings could be made available to you on demand, or (as I recall) to the government for appropriate cause (I honestly don't recall the circumstances of government access, but I seem to recall this being used in some event where a character proves his innocence of something by use of his life recordings).

In any event... I thought this might make an interesting discussion.

Say that in your lifetime, a company puts this together -- and makes this available as a service. You wear a device that is immutably on all the time, and records and transmits for third party storage everything you do, everything you say, and everything that you experience -- including what other people do and say to you or in your direct presence.

Assume, for the moment, that you are personally allowed convenient access to this information for your own purposes, and that it is of unassailable value -- your recordings may be expected to be unimpeachably accepted as the true account of anything that has happened. Also, assume that there is some appropriate parallel to privacy laws that exist today -- perhaps that you cannot be compelled to submit your own recordings if you believe they would incriminate you somehow.

So, give it some thought... are you interested in becoming a client?

rkmsuf · 03-01-2006, 02:12 PM

What would be the ultimate purpose of such a device only for personal use though. I mean the good stuff you'll remember anyway and the bad stuff you'd choose to forget which would be a good thing mostly.

I guess other than serving as like a datapad of stuff you forget...like names or general info, what's an application of this that is that appealing?

GoSeahawks · 03-01-2006, 02:20 PM

Wasn't there a movie released similar to this?

rkmsuf · 03-01-2006, 02:21 PM

It makes me think of Minority Report.

flere-imsaho · 03-01-2006, 02:22 PM

Same here.

Pyser · 03-01-2006, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoSeahawks

Wasn't there a movie released similar to this?

i think it was a robin williams movie called "final cut" or something.

Raiders Army · 03-01-2006, 02:24 PM

What is the playback mechanism? For stuff you say and hear and see, I can see a "TV"-like experience. If it also allows you to re-experience things, for example a roller-coaster ride, then I would be interested.

Take it one step further. Let's say you could erase your memories (ala Paycheck) as well as replay them. That would be even more desirable.

amdaily · 03-01-2006, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoSeahawks

Wasn't there a movie released similar to this?

Yeah, with Robin Williams. Can't recall the name though...

rkmsuf · 03-01-2006, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

What is the playback mechanism? For stuff you say and hear and see, I can see a "TV"-like experience. If it also allows you to re-experience things, for example a roller-coaster ride, then I would be interested.

Take it one step further. Let's say you could erase your memories (ala Paycheck) as well as replay them. That would be even more desirable.

"Get your ass to Mars!"

Swaggs · 03-01-2006, 02:25 PM

It would seem to have some valuable in psychiatry, memory-loss patients, and alzheimer's disease.

cthomer5000 · 03-01-2006, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoSeahawks

Wasn't there a movie released similar to this?

Strange Days

Arctus · 03-01-2006, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swaggs

It would seem to have some valuable in psychiatry, memory-loss patients, and alzheimer's disease.

also for those who black out when drinking heavily

albionmoonlight · 03-01-2006, 03:03 PM

The short answer to this question is no.

One thing that I have learned in my few years working for the judiciary is that if the information exists, the government will find a way to obtain and use it. And, even if I had not done anything wrong, I still value privacy simply for the sake of privacy.

That may be foolish and niave of me. And, since I don't plan on committing any major crimes in the future, the lack of a recorded life may bite me in the ass if I ever am accused of committing a crime--but I guess that I will live with that decision.

Of course, I am sure that if I knew just how much information about my life was out there and available to anyone with a warrant and a high-speed internet connection, I may conclude that my answer does not really matter since I am already living a recorded life. Here I am thinking of that Charlie Wentzle (sp?) kid who had his entire life posted on the internet by some dudes on a message board with some spare time and an axe to grind against him.

TroyF · 03-01-2006, 03:40 PM

Interesting concept.

It's easy to say no right off and leave it at that.

Yet from my time on the radio and the short time I did some TV work in college, I've found we look and sound differently than we think we do.

One of the things I used to do in the call center with phone agents who had some complaints was to record their calls and play them back for them. We'd listen to the calls together and see how they sounded as opposed to what they were thinking. It was an incredible tool and saved many agents their jobs.

I wonder how this would change peoples behavior. Even if you knew it couldn't be used against you. How would it impact you if you knew your entire life was being recorded? How would you change?

QuikSand · 03-01-2006, 06:18 PM

Well, in the novel, the writer describes an interesting result of this technology's wide availability.

There, the mere presence of the service seems to stratify people into two groups -- those who avail themselves of the recorded life (and he does a far better job than I did of illustrating the benefits of such a setup -- enforcability of private contracts, essentially having a perfect memory of events, and the like)... and then those who don't. Essentially, you get the sense (which I think seems realistic) that there would become a certain stigma of resisting the service. In time, it became prety much expected of leaders in government and business to lead "recorded lives" and, by implication, to be a person of consequence without doing so suggested that you were hiding something.

An interesting spin on this notion, I think. Actually that idea connects very closely with the central idea of the book (how would the world really change if we had a machine that could infalliby detect people's lies?).

In any event... it seems to me a pretty provocative question, but I think I failed it here by not working harder to "sell" the potential benefits it might hold to regular joes.

st.cronin · 03-01-2006, 06:23 PM

Is it just my own bias, or does the device in question raise religious questions as well? What we do and choose either matters or it does not ... if it matters, it is worthy of being recorded.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Pyser · 03-01-2006, 06:23 PM

this also reminds me of the albert brooks movie "defending your life".

QuikSand · 03-01-2006, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyser

this also reminds me of the albert brooks movie "defending your life".

Hadn't thought of that... but what set this apart (to me, at least) was the idea that this was completely optional (in this book)... though in time, it became less so as public comfort and expectations elevated.

Pyser · 03-01-2006, 06:26 PM

i forgot about the optional part.

this certainly would decrease crime though...at least in those whose life is being recorded.

i wouldnt go for it, personally..but i have heard of "video tombstones" (where a video screen is actually embedded in your tombstone, and plays a looped video). a little greatest hits of my life would be cool there, i must admit.

biological warrior · 03-01-2006, 11:54 PM

That thing is gonna be a resource hog.

digamma · 03-02-2006, 12:00 AM

The concept intrigues me, but from a slightly different angle. What intrigues me is how such a recording could be a primary historical source. Your own quick and dirty personal history to pass down to your family. I get the feeling that in today's e-mail, IM and cell phone world, despite all of those data storage mechanisms, we might end up with less of a historical record for the average joe than we did 100 years ago. We wouldn't have to worry about that with such a product.

st.cronin · 03-02-2006, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digamma

I get the feeling that in today's e-mail, IM and cell phone world, despite all of those data storage mechanisms, we might end up with less of a historical record for the average joe than we did 100 years ago.

I have wondered about that as well.

03-01-2006, 02:12 PM	#2
rkmsuf Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2001	What would be the ultimate purpose of such a device only for personal use though. I mean the good stuff you'll remember anyway and the bad stuff you'd choose to forget which would be a good thing mostly. I guess other than serving as like a datapad of stuff you forget...like names or general info, what's an application of this that is that appealing? __________________ "Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales Last edited by rkmsuf : 03-01-2006 at 02:12 PM.

03-01-2006, 02:21 PM	#4
rkmsuf Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2001	It makes me think of Minority Report. __________________ "Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales

03-01-2006, 02:25 PM	#10
Swaggs Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000	It would seem to have some valuable in psychiatry, memory-loss patients, and alzheimer's disease. __________________ DOWN WITH HATTRICK!!! The RWBL Are you reading In The Bleachers?

03-01-2006, 06:23 PM	#16
st.cronin General Manager Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New Mexico	Is it just my own bias, or does the device in question raise religious questions as well? What we do and choose either matters or it does not ... if it matters, it is worthy of being recorded. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. __________________ co-commish: bb-bbcf.net knives out

03-01-2006, 02:20 PM	#3
GoSeahawks High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Olympia, Wa	Wasn't there a movie released similar to this?

03-01-2006, 02:22 PM	#5
flere-imsaho Coordinator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chicagoland	Same here.

03-01-2006, 02:24 PM	#7
Raiders Army Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Black Hole	What is the playback mechanism? For stuff you say and hear and see, I can see a "TV"-like experience. If it also allows you to re-experience things, for example a roller-coaster ride, then I would be interested. Take it one step further. Let's say you could erase your memories (ala Paycheck) as well as replay them. That would be even more desirable.

03-01-2006, 03:03 PM	#13
albionmoonlight Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: North Carolina	The short answer to this question is no. One thing that I have learned in my few years working for the judiciary is that if the information exists, the government will find a way to obtain and use it. And, even if I had not done anything wrong, I still value privacy simply for the sake of privacy. That may be foolish and niave of me. And, since I don't plan on committing any major crimes in the future, the lack of a recorded life may bite me in the ass if I ever am accused of committing a crime--but I guess that I will live with that decision. Of course, I am sure that if I knew just how much information about my life was out there and available to anyone with a warrant and a high-speed internet connection, I may conclude that my answer does not really matter since I am already living a recorded life. Here I am thinking of that Charlie Wentzle (sp?) kid who had his entire life posted on the internet by some dudes on a message board with some spare time and an axe to grind against him.

03-01-2006, 03:40 PM	#14
TroyF Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000	Interesting concept. It's easy to say no right off and leave it at that. Yet from my time on the radio and the short time I did some TV work in college, I've found we look and sound differently than we think we do. One of the things I used to do in the call center with phone agents who had some complaints was to record their calls and play them back for them. We'd listen to the calls together and see how they sounded as opposed to what they were thinking. It was an incredible tool and saved many agents their jobs. I wonder how this would change peoples behavior. Even if you knew it couldn't be used against you. How would it impact you if you knew your entire life was being recorded? How would you change?

03-01-2006, 06:18 PM	#15
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Well, in the novel, the writer describes an interesting result of this technology's wide availability. There, the mere presence of the service seems to stratify people into two groups -- those who avail themselves of the recorded life (and he does a far better job than I did of illustrating the benefits of such a setup -- enforcability of private contracts, essentially having a perfect memory of events, and the like)... and then those who don't. Essentially, you get the sense (which I think seems realistic) that there would become a certain stigma of resisting the service. In time, it became prety much expected of leaders in government and business to lead "recorded lives" and, by implication, to be a person of consequence without doing so suggested that you were hiding something. An interesting spin on this notion, I think. Actually that idea connects very closely with the central idea of the book (how would the world really change if we had a machine that could infalliby detect people's lies?). In any event... it seems to me a pretty provocative question, but I think I failed it here by not working harder to "sell" the potential benefits it might hold to regular joes.

03-01-2006, 06:23 PM	#17
Pyser Pro Rookie Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Los Angeles	this also reminds me of the albert brooks movie "defending your life".

03-01-2006, 06:26 PM	#19
Pyser Pro Rookie Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Los Angeles	i forgot about the optional part. this certainly would decrease crime though...at least in those whose life is being recorded. i wouldnt go for it, personally..but i have heard of "video tombstones" (where a video screen is actually embedded in your tombstone, and plays a looped video). a little greatest hits of my life would be cool there, i must admit.

03-01-2006, 11:54 PM	#20
biological warrior High School Varsity Join Date: Dec 2005	That thing is gonna be a resource hog.

03-02-2006, 12:00 AM	#21
digamma Torchbearer Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: On Lake Harriet	The concept intrigues me, but from a slightly different angle. What intrigues me is how such a recording could be a primary historical source. Your own quick and dirty personal history to pass down to your family. I get the feeling that in today's e-mail, IM and cell phone world, despite all of those data storage mechanisms, we might end up with less of a historical record for the average joe than we did 100 years ago. We wouldn't have to worry about that with such a product.

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