Headline, November 17 2024/ HUMOUR : ''' BYTE TRADE-OFF BILE '''

HUMOUR : 

''' BYTE TRADE-OFF BILE '''

EVERY BYTE YOU TAKE Is giving tech giants access to personal information for a '' better '' user experience. While I would like to believe my closest friends and family members know me best.

A recent request for my data shared an inconvenient and slightly unsettling truth : Google knows me better than my mother, my spouse and my therapist combined and recombined.

In fact, if we were ever to participate in a game show to see who knows me best, Google and its servers would emerge as sole victors. What was once just a humble search engine, is now a tech giant with the ability to influence and impact the digital ecosystem.

Hey, I'm not attacking it. I understand all these sites and services only go through all that trouble of gathering my web and app [ application ] activity, tracking my interests, locations and behaviours, and innocently skimming through my emails, so they can serve ''me' better. In the end. all that data harvesting is for 'my' benefit.

Do I mind? Of course not! Why should I? As long as it's convenient, free and makes my life easy.

For example, just last night, I asked AI to finish a simple task for me. I may or may not have typed : '' And a greta / Balck firday deel was enough to tpi tge the balance in hsi favor. And tihs to the story and regirte ti ''

Full disclosure : I'm a terrible typist. And when I'm in a hurry, I type as articulately as a drunken sailor walks on a storm-tossed ship.

In time crunched-moments, I often send texts as comprehensible as the one above. Some recipients, such as my mother, discount them as long strings of gibberish, the result of a butt text.

My closest friends politely respond with a '?' while some, like my slow-witted siblings, brusquely propose I save whatever limited dignity I have and stick to voice notes.

As for AI? Oh, she gets me! Not only does she decipher my typo-laden commands, but she also graciously overlooks my inadequacies, embracing them as mere quirks and responding quickly with the answers I urgently seek.

So, yes, as a millennial, I like my tech integrated lifestyle : my phone monitors my screen time and reminds me to hydrate and take breaks. My smart watch keeps tabs on my unhealthy sleep patterns and lack of exercise.

Siri helps my kids with his maths homework, while Alexa's ready and waiting for me to holler at her [ instead of the kids ] to switch off the lights and other gadgets.

Google Maps silently observes where I've shopped and what I've sought and then thoughtfully slips in targeted ads, as I doom-scroll Instagram at 2am. Flo manages to sound the alarm and forewarn of an unpredictable storm. Then, of course, there's my faithful Roomba, ready to kiss and clean the ground I walk on.

Why would I not love tech, AI and the ease that comes with it? In return, all they ask is my permission and little bits of data.

Cookies? I'll allow it!

' Terms and Conditions ' that are legally binding in court? Yes, yes, I accept.

Privacy Policy of a third-party app that wants access to my camera and contacts? Knock yourself out guys. I mean, Gmail is giving me 15 GB of free storage. I'm sure the company has my best interest at heart!

Sensitive personal information for a health app to track my symptoms? I don't see any harm.

Do I really need to be so concerned about app permission, cookies and privacy policies? Haven't we already covered this privacy-breach freak-out party?

And really, what's the worst that could happen?

Well, for one, an AI powered iRobot could snap a compromising photo of a beta-tester on the toilet, which could then end up on the internet because of a third-party breach. Or Alexa could lie and opt for profits over consumer privacy, only to be found guilty of child privacy violations.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Bytes, BILE, Tech Giants, Profits and Future, continues. The World Students Society thanks Z. Umair.

With respectful dedication to the Global Founder Framers of !WOW! - the exclusive and eternal ownership of every student in the world - and then Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers.

See You all prepare for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless