Privacy will definitely strike back... If you want to picture the Circle, just imagine a company that reveals all your personal life and online identity into one account. This is what the company stands for: "all that happens must be known", "privacy is theft", "secrets are lies", and "to heal we must know, and to know we must share".
Mae Holland had no problems with the philosophy of the company because this job was her dream job and she is finally working in it. But Mae Holland struggles to fit into the transparency that is found in the Circle because she has personal experiences and problems that she would prefer not to be shared. The Circle is a social company built on the philosophy of transparency. Anybody that tries to keep their secrets to themselves does not belong there. Based on one of "the wise men", Bailey, in order for the company to grow and be great, all secrets must be revealed. And this is done through data. One of Bailey's best arguments about keeping secrets, which helps to fulfill the goal of this philosophy is: "A circle is the strongest shape in the universe. Nothing can beat it, nothing can improve upon it. And that's what we want to be: perfect. So any information that eludes us, anything that's not accessible, prevents us from being perfect" (287).
The relationship between data and privacy is that when data is used to study the personal life of an individual, there will be no privacy, Secrets will all be revealed, and as a worker of the company, you will have to accept the criticism you will receive from people. You have to be valiant and not worry about what people will think of you.
Another of the three wise men, Ty, fears that the company he helped to build is taking the wrong path. Everything that is going on in the company was not really what he expected. So he plans on destroying it. In the Circle, he says to Mae, "here, though, there are no oppressors. No one's forcing you to do this. You willingly tie yourself to these leashes. And you willingly become utterly socially autistic. You no longer pick up on basic human communication cues. You're at a table with three humans, all of whom you know and are trying to talk to you, and you're staring at a screen searching for strangers in Dubai." (260).
Mae is a single child who was once raised by her parents. But life for Mae took another turn, so her parents had to depend on the Circle's healthcare plan. But this dependence will lead to Mae's parents being forced to have cameras in every part of their house. This will increase her parent's distrust of the Circle and Mae.
The Circle punishes any politician that tries to interfere with its ability to access information and use evidence to validate accusations. This is how the relationship between the U.S Government and the Circle began to be out of control. This is the main reason why Ty wanted to destroy it. Privacy will definitely strike back.
I like the idea of privacy striking back. I would suggest sticking to the topic at hand. Good use of the text.
ReplyDeleteYou made a great case for privacy, but I'm a little lost on how you connected data to privacy? Maybe try to stick a little more to the prompt, but otherwise good writing.
ReplyDeleteYour post is really great up to the point where you quote Ty. This quote is actually Mercer's. Also, the final two paragraphs of your post seem tacked on and unrelated to the ideas that you developed earlier in the post. I have to disagree with "privacy will definitely strike back;" if you've read the whole book, which I gather you have, you know that quantitative transparency eventually trumps privacy. I know I seem very critical, but that's just because the first part of your post is so good that the last part is sort of a let down. All-in-all, however, this is the best post I've read so far; keep up the good work!
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