Dubai Assassination Caught on Surveillance

Big news this week was the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai by a team of more than 10 assassins. What was particularly striking to me was how much of the unfolding event was captured on surveillance video. I've often asked my students how much of their lives they think is captured on video -- certainly not as much as in a place like Dubai. But whatever amount it is, it will only be increasing.

There are at least two significant issues this raises: first is the social issue of privacy. It's not exactly that surveillance makes private things public; however it does turns public events that would have been transient into permanent records. What will the social cost be?

Second is the technological issue of how to deal with the deluge of data. Not just how to store it, but what to do with it. Imagine a day when intelligent software can monitor the massive flow of data from ubiquitous video, audio, and other sensors. Will we be able to prevent crimes and terrorist acts by catching the would-be perpetrators in advance? Starting to sound a bit like "Minority Report!"

Image credit: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/LeaderTalk/