Information Center

Newsletters

Seminars

Bookstore

Part Two
(Updated Feb. 8, 2018)

How Facebook, Amazon and other Information Technology Giants are:
- Invading our Privacy
- Programming for Addiction
- Embedding Godless Philosophies
- What can we do?

By Eric Barger

(Click to read: "Home Invasion Part 1: Amazon and Google vs. Privacy and Security")

One of the most difficult assignments I have in this type of ministry is concerning research. It is something I do much of the time. It can be all-consuming, especially when working on the content needed for a major project such as a book or DVD. Some of the hardest decisions that I have to make, whether writing, preparing notes for radio, or working on a television script, is what do I leave out? Particular topics, such as some of those touched on in this three-part article, are worthy of much more attention than I am able to afford them here. So please understand that there is much, much more to be said on this subject matter.

They Want it Where?

One of the most disconcerting pieces of information that I came across in preparing this article is that, besides the various Amazon Echo home units I discussed in part one, there is a home unit, the Echo Look, that Amazon suggests users place in their bedrooms.

Amazon’s own web page about this unit announces “Echo Look | Hands-Free Camera and Style Assistant with Alexa—includes Style Check to get a second opinion on your outfit.”[1]

Yes, it is a camera that allows Amazon’s programmed Artificial Intelligence (i.e., A.I.) to offer its advice on your clothing selection, color coordination, and overall apparel for the day!

One headline read, “Amazon Wants to Put a Camera and Microphone in Your Bedroom - Echo Look will use machine learning to decide if you look fat in that shirt.”

Jason Koebler at Motherboard.vice.com wrote, “Amazon is giving Alexa eyes. And it's going to let her judge your outfits. The newly announced Echo Look is a virtual assistant with a microphone and a camera that’s designed to go somewhere in your bedroom, bathroom, or wherever the h--- you get dressed.”[2]

Amazon’s desire for consumers to trust their algorithms in making style choices isn’t nearly as intimidating - or as foolish – as it is to trust your personal privacy to them. Another headline contained my personal sentiments and stated “Amazon Wants to Put a Camera in Your Bedroom. What Could Go Wrong?” That headline belongs to an article from www.inc.com by Joseph Steinberg, who is a cybersecurity expert and entrepreneur. Steinberg is CEO of SecureMySocial, which recently brought to market the world's first system to warn people in real time if they are making inappropriate social media posts. His article, concerning Amazon’s Echo Look, should be read by anyone who already has a stand-alone Amazon or Google device of any kind or who is considering buying one. (Read Steinberg’s post here: https://www.inc.com/joseph-steinberg/amazon-wants-to-put-a-camera-in-your-bedroom-what-could-go-wrong.html.)

Style and fashion aside, what about hackers? Even if every individual at Amazon with the ability to access uploads from Echo Look possessed the highest integrity and were governed by ethics as pure as the driven snow, there is always the issue of misuse. Uploading various types of photos to public places on the internet for the purposes of humiliation, embarrassment, and retaliation is about as common as vile language in an “R” rated movie. However, many people have watched as their lives and futures have suffered devastating harm because of the practice of “Revenge Porn” online. This issue reached a critical stage late last year when Facebook actually began soliciting salacious pictures from users - even if the particular pictures had not been used to damage another party’s reputation. This is not a misprint, folks. Facebook is actually seeking to digitally stamp images in such a way that pictures submitted could not ever be uploaded to Facebook by jealous angry spouses or former love interests with axes to grind. So this is what happens when everybody has a camera and internet access? One has to wonder how many hackers seeking to blackmail whomever possible are determined to unlock the Facebook server containing those files to riffle through them. But wait… relax. Facebook has all their files secured, right? Google has reportedly now set a team in place to review and delete pornographic images. What a sick and dangerous task. Without expounding on this, I wonder how many employed in such a job will suffer irreparably?

Addicted. Admit it or not, Addicted

Devices, be they PCs, tablets, phones, and now stand-alone home speakers, are all part of an addiction process. That may seem like a strong word but it really isn’t. In 2017, some gasped upon hearing more than one former Facebook executive publicly admit that Facebook was, by design, constructed to addict. 

Apple has finally owned up to the fact that older phones were built to slow and regress. It is also a fact that all of the tech giants undermine and suppress conservative or biblical values, either through dead-ending posts or censoring searches on their platforms. But now comes perhaps the most concerning revelations from inside the tech jungle.

During an interview conducted before a live audience at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in early November 2017, Chamath Palihapitiya, (left) Facebook’s former head of user growth, told those gathered, “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works. No civil discourse, no cooperation, [but] misinformation, mistruth.”

Palihapitiya’s comments concerning the foundations of Facebook were even more troubling. “Even though we feigned this whole line of, like, ‘There probably aren’t any really bad unintended consequences,’ I think in the back, deep, deep recesses of our minds, we kind of knew something bad could happen,” he said. “We have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works. That is truly where we are.” (Emphasis added) [3]

Business Insider reported that Palihapitiya said that he feels “tremendous guilt” over Facebook’s divisive role in society, as exploited by Russian agents in last year’s U.S. election.”[4]

In the November 9, 2017, edition of Fortune Magazine, Tom Huddeston Jr. wrote, "Sean Parker, the onetime founding president of Facebook and co-founder of Napster, is not the social media advocate he once was."

Parker said, among other social media entrepreneurs, Facebook CEO and co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg (right), understood that they were launching a website that could be addicting, “and we did it anyway.”

“The thought process that went into building these applications, Facebook being the first of them . . . was all about: ‘How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?’”

Parker concluded, “God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.”[5]

At Stanford, Chamath Palihapitiya revealed, “My solution is I just don’t use these tools anymore. I haven’t for years. It’s created huge tension with my friends…I guess I kind of innately didn’t want to get programmed.” Palihapitiya added that he also doesn’t allow his children to use social networks.[6]

Ironically, while I was researching information related to the ex-Facebook executives, a video ad kept popping up on my screen announcing that Facebook has unveiled a new Messenger app for children. Wonderful. I mused, “Did that message actually say, ‘Start them young and addict them early?’” No, but that was actually what I whispered to myself as I watched. Somehow, in the midst of that disturbing information concerning Facebook and kids, I was snapped away from the winding rabbit trail of research and back to reality.

Social Media Self-Exam

I know some of those reading here might be wondering if my solution for the social media dilemma is simply to unplug completely. Perhaps some individuals need to limit or stop online activities because of addiction, dependence, or simply because without restraints Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms can, at very least, dominate one's time. For some, especially young people without much life experience, it may be difficult to determine when, how, or even if social media should have a place in their lives. That statement may seem odd to those who have grown up with social media being such a large part of their lives. However, it seems to me that many kids and adults alike just dive in without clear understanding of what they may encounter. It is an understatement to say that there are many traps online and one bad decision can result in many regrets. These are all questions and choices that each family or individual should assess for themselves.

Just as in any other facet of our lives, we need preparation and a plan for success. But before we log on we must pray, focus, and remain dedicated to God's will. Below, I've listed just a couple of passages that we can all draw strength from as we seek to reach a lost world for Him.