Jeff Jonas writes:
As mankind deploys increasing numbers of sensors, and makes more sense of this data, more of our secrets are revealed. In a world of greater transparency, will you be able to be you? Or will you feel obligated to mask who you are, drawn to the safety of the center of the bell curve?
Will a more transparent society make you average?
Imagine for a moment that video feeds from street surveillance cameras are the blue puzzle pieces, your path through life lit up by your cell phone location as the green puzzle pieces and your Facebook social network as the yellow puzzle pieces. Flicker the brown puzzle pieces and Twitter, orange puzzle pieces. And maybe one day your energy consuming devices in your home may be spewing out the magenta puzzle pieces. As increasing volume and range of data converges, a colorful, highly revealing picture of our lives will unfold, with or without our knowledge or permission. Traditional physical sensors like credit card and license plate readers are one thing. The human is the sensor, thanks to Web 2.0, is altogether a different thing.
Read more on Concurring Opinions.