[extropy-chat] Many eyes

[Dan Clemmensen]

Dirk Bruere wrote:

> Dan Clemmensen wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> To increase pre-explosion coverage, the public should be encouraged 
>> to make random pictures in public places, more or less continuously. 
>> If nothing  interesting happens, most of these digital pictures will 
>> never even be stored. If something bad happens, the pictures from 
>> prior to the event would become available for analysis.
>>
>> Privacy? Sorry, These are pictures taken by individuals, in public 
>> places. There is no right to privacy in this venue.
>>
>> I live in the Washington DC area. I thought of this  concept during 
>> the ugly "sniper attack" situation last year.
>
>
> An average Londoner will be picked up on hundreds of cameras on a 
> normal day.
> The security services have had the City cameras connected to computer 
> syatems that tracks every car entering and leaving that area for 
> years, due to IRA attacks. I also recall that they were trialling a 
> system in the 90s where the face of every person caught on camera was 
> compared to a database of wanted people.
>
> The bombers will undoubtedly have been caught on camera and even now 
> extremely powerful computersystems will be running pattern matching 
> and people-tracing algorithms on all captured video for hours before 
> and hours after the attack. I suspect that by now they may well have 
> pictures of some of those responsible.
>
> It's how the last London bomber was caught.
>
Yes, Dick. The authorities do have a lot of video coverage, garnered at 
great expense, and they are working hard at analyzing it. The 
authorities have (in the last six hours or so) broadcast a request to 
the public for any video or other pictures that the public may have.

This request conveys two facts:
1) the "official" record is incomplete.
2) the "official analysts have not yet found the perpetrators.

I do not contend that "official"cameras and analysts are inadequate. 
Rather, I contend that society need not depend on the official 
infrastructure. As individuals, we can instead fine the perpetrators 
ourselves. Ten thousand amateurs are at least as effective as a hundred 
professionals. This is the "cathedral" versus the "bazaar" with a 
vengence (using the term advisedly.)