[extropy-chat] The end of crime as we used to know it?

[Anders Sandberg]

One can look at it this way. Once upon a time when you saw a LEO doing
something illegal it was your word against his. Not much of a chance. But
now it is possible to get more evidence. It is still not an even fight.
But it is far more possible to make it.

I think the main effect of ubiquitious cameras is not going to be on
police violence or crime but on other areas. People documenting events as
they happen is going to have a far more profound effect. It is going to be
both small things - which lettuce to buy in the store - and big things - a
random photo showing the assassin on his way to the podium. As the
prevalence increases it is going to become more uncertain for store
personell to throw out customers apparently debating what to buy with
their girlfriends over the phone, and that is going to spread to other
areas. At the same time we are going to see the development of norms and
customs of what not to photo - and this of course still enables people to
hide in the shadows.


-- 
Anders Sandberg
http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa
http://www.aleph.se/andart/

The sum of human knowledge sounds nice. But I want more.