A few days back I watched a SomeOrdinaryGamers video, in which he states to drive a Tesla car, despite expressing the obvious privacy concerns surrounding the built-in camera system; but doesn’t seem to consider the privacy-impact to those around the vehicle, he chooses to drive through public streets. And another example being Rob Braxman, while ironically, both known to frequently criticize other public-facing, internet connected surveillance systems (like Ring for example).
If it was “just” a cabin camera, staring you straight in the face every time you drive your car (and you’re somehow okay with that), it would still be a terrible look in context with your channel content, but at least it is contained to you personally. But knowingly driving these surveillance nightmares on wheels through public streets, subjecting others to that surveillance, while you represent pro-privacy channels online, is just inexcusably hypocritical to me. But perhaps it might just be me, so what are your thoughts?
Never heard of that guy myself but yeah I guess it’s human nature… we are good at rationalizing what we want to do.
Personally I’m kinda torn. I would like an EV for environmental reasons. But all EVs seem to be horrible spyware on wheels. Even worse than internal combustion cars. Which already are pretty bad. At least newer ones are. My old ass car isn’t. But a modern EV? It’s so invasive.
So I stick with my old ass car. But I grind my teeth. Because I want a lower impact vehicle. I use a bike or bus when I can. But sometimes Ican’t.
Producing a new vehicle requires a lot of resources, and so did the older vehicle you’re driving right now. So it might ironically be more environmentally friendly to keep driving that vehicle (especially since a lot of EVs are running on gray energy, and all the newly produced and installed “green” infrastructure also required a lot of resources). The human contribution to climate change appears to be due to industry (and especially globalism): yes, the same industry trying to sell you a solution to the problem they’re largely responsible for (and trying to gaslight you into believing you are). Sure, “consumers” play a role in it, but is largely due to incentives created by the industry; and their unwillingness to meaningfully change (instead of resorting to greenwashing, or moving to a subscription economy instead of throwaway). But lowering impact doesn’t hurt (that is if you aren’t substantially inconvenienced by it: including limited in your ability to move freely and independently), but primarily comes from consuming less instead of more: not discarding a perfectly functional item, and substituting it for a newly produced one.
Those are very good points. Some of that tied into my choice to keep my old car until the wheels fall off.
Eventually I’ll have to replace it. Then it’ll be either antother old but less old combustion car, or an EV. But all the EVs leave such a bad taste with the surveilence.
Same here, until the government goes from the carrot to the stick approach I guess (because of poor adoption-rates). :) Yeah, I really don’t understand how cameras in and around one’s personal vehicle, which aren’t under the control of its supposed “owner”, flies with anyone (especially privacy-conscious persons)…