Thoughts on the surveillance state that permeates across modern society.
Singularity has arrived.
Dear frontrunners,
It has been a while. Hope you’re doing well. Still bullish on crypto, still hodling your fave shitcoin as a hedge against debasement via fiat currency but it is disappointing to see the cypherpunks of cryptography begging at the alter of the US government to buy their bags.
What happen to creating a “set of rails” on the blockchain, this holy ledger of immutable transactions to liberate us from the shackles of human error? I will start posting more, about crypto and more broadly technology / AI but totes understand if you hit the unsub; maybe this whole crypto thing was a passing interest and you’ve pivoted to regenerative farming. I think building stuff in the real world is BACK baby.
Been thinking deeply about how interconnected trackable we are via the data we generate as a function of existing. Thoughts are below. This is part of a broader idea i’ll share more of, I just can’t stop thinking about this (maybe i’m late to the party?).
Tracking humans online
- Cookies, pixels (files on your computer) to track visits, searches, shopping behavior,
- Fingerprinting (ip, hardware, OS) creates a digital fingerprint trackable across the internet
- Search (AI, google) - every query is logged, stored, analyzed to predict behavior & personalized ads
- DNS enables your ISP to track all web sites you visit
This is how google + meta track user behavior across their ad network.
This is how amazon knows what you want to buy based on shopping habits , search.
Tracking humans in person
- GPS / wifi tracking via phone triangulates your movements, does not matter if device is off;
- bluetooth/wifi proximity tracking via bluetooth beacons
- accelerometer data - analyzes how you hold move and use your device to infer your behavior; e.g. your wife’s eyeballs get bigger when she sees her fave influencer showing off her latest christian louboutin pumps. The AI knows.
This is how apple + google maps tracks our real time location history.
This is how tiktok, ig, snap collect device / motion data to refine their algos.
Tracking what we buy
- Credit card - Banks, Visa, Mastercard, Paypal track and share data with financial partners. Maybe it’s deidentified?
- Retail loyalty programs (e.g. frequent flyer miles, costco membership) - Track purchase via their loyalty programs and link them to online behavior.
- POS data - this is nirvana, everytime you swipe your card it is shared w/ retailers, ad networks to predict future purchases.
Tracking what we say
In app monitoring e.g IG, snap, tiktok, fb all track what we watch, click, comment and hover over.
The psyop is now they overlay microphone and audio analysis to detect background sounds and target ads. You and your bestie talking about lamps, then seeing a lamp ad on IG is not random.
Behavioral tracking now over lays how long you scroll, what you engage with and how quickly you react to posts.
This is how IG analyzes your scroll behavior to serve hyper targeted ads.
This is how Google tracks your yt history and search queries.
OK and what about AI?
The goal is to predict your next move. Predict what you will search for, buy, or watch based on your past behavior. We are here people.
Data brokers compile data from multiple sources and build profiles on millions of people. People like you.
This is how amazon predicts what you’ll buy before you do.
This is how netflix recommends shows you’ll like.
What does this mean?
Everything you do online is tracked unless you actively prevent it. Your real world movements are monitored via AI, sensors and networks. Bigtech, ad tech, banks, and governments all collect and share this data.
To knowledge and wisdom,
John Cook
March 2025
Article cover generated by DALL-E: “A classical oil painting depicting a dystopian society under constant surveillance by a colossal "Big Brother" figure in the sky.
