The democratization of surveillance

ZD Net | March 6 2005

Researchers at UC Berkeley are developing a micromechanical flying "insect cam." An electrical current makes a set of piezo-electric strips vibrate at 150 times per second; the strips in turn drive a pair of wings. The devices (creatures?) are experimental today, but as MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) technology matures, they'll become not only commercial but, as Kevin Kelley might put it, Fast, Cheap and Out of Control.

These creatures are part of a trend that started many years ago with the opening of "spy stores" that sell private citizens parabolic microphones, audio "bugs" (prescient name), miniature cameras and other artifacts of the clandestine arts. The trend is the democratization of surveillance, and it constitutes a much bigger threat to privacy than anything governments might do. Imagine swarms of miniature insect cams (and insect mics), each controlled by a different "hobbyist," converging on homes, cars, dorms and other places where privacy is assumed today. It's ironic that Big Brother, who can (in principle) be controlled by legislation, may prove to be a paper tiger. As anyone with younger male siblings can tell you, the real threat to privacy usually comes from inquisitive Little Brothers.