How Many Voices?
Many years ago, we were looking to pivot our startup into a platform for voice. We were looking at gluing together several different voice technologies into one software package that could be deployed easily on many different types of hardware. One of the technologies was biometrics. We were looking to add the capability of a voice lock for the device, so only the registered voice could interact.
In speaking with different companies, we eventually spoke with one based in the Washington DC area. We said we wanted to be able to identify a speaker. They asked us “how many millions of people will you be recording?”
Wait.. what?
Clearly this company had been working on voice biometrics for very different applications than the one we were building. The thought then occurred that it’s likely that in mass surveillance, you’d want to identify particular voices among a crowd of intercepted communications.
It might be too late for us to conceal our identifies. While we’re still not in the “zoom… enhance” era (except for AI based upscaling) of surveillance in most countries, the means of recording are tracing are there. The underlying technologies are extremely helpful. When trust in government both to oversee the use of the technology and not to abuse it erodes, these tools become our shackles.
What to do? Obfuscate.
One way we may need to deal with surveillance is to create too much data about ourselves and overwhelm tracking. Citizen-based movements can create real and simulated data and we can pose as each other.
Let’s use the cookie analogy. If I know which cookie you were eating, let’s say a red velvet, I can follow the red crumbs and find where you’ve been. But if you’ve shared you’ve traded a cookie randomly with someone else, the path might be you and it might not be you. This makes identity stitching much more difficult. The idea is to overwhelm the surveillance systems.
We might see tools being deployed as countries escalate freedom-curbing laws. These might go from using private browsing to going full Tor to mesh-based peer Internet… but maybe more — maybe us wearing AI vision confusing clothing. Just like we have first aid kits hoping we’ll never use them, we might need the same for our privacy.
