Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Games, Arrests, and Advertising

I would like to bring three things to your attention today.

1. Desktop Dungeons is coming out for iOS tonight and Android tomorrow. If you've never played it, please remedy that as soon as possible.

2. The gangsters at FIFA have been indicted today by the U.S. Government: Justice Department Brings The Hammer Down On FIFA. Lots of arrests in Switzerland, and I bet these guys roll over like rotisserie chicken to avoid long prison terms.

Does this mean anything will actually change inside FIFA? It's clearly been a criminal organization for decades, with a patronage system that is so deeply-rooted it might be impossible to clean up. However, and I think this is very important, today at least proves that FIFA is no longer beyond legal scrutiny.

Any organization that believes it is beyond legal scrutiny will breed corruption at an astonishing rate. This is why "self policing" is an oxymoron.

3. Here's something that is going to be both important and invasive in the future: This Ad for Banned Food in Russia Can Hide Itself From the Cops. Basically, the billboard has a camera and facial recognition software, and the software was tweaked to identify the symbols and logos on police uniforms. When the police walk up within a certain distance, the ad changes.

Already, Internet ads get served up on the basis of our online behavior. Now we'll see ads as we walk down the street that are targeted by the way we dress. Or our race. Our sex.

As far as I can tell, every new piece of technology created has only three possible uses: war, marketing, or po*n. Discouraging.

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