A population that’s motivated and well informed, is much stronger and more effective that one which is ignorant and constantly monitored.” When citizens have access to scientific information and feel they can trust the authorities, they can contribute to the good of society. We can choose to protect our health and stop the coronavirus not by instituting totalitarian surveillance regimes, but rather by empowering citizens.
“Asking people to choose between privacy and health is the very root of the problem. He says democratizing, not centralizing, access to information will be key if such a system is to work. Harari proposes a system founded on honesty and personal responsibility. He says democratizing, not centralizing, access to information will be key if such a system is to work" I am all in favor of monitoring my blood pressure and body temperature, but that data should not be used to create an all-powerful government.” "Harari proposes a system founded on honesty and personal responsibility. “If we are not careful, the epidemic might mark an important watershed in the history of surveillance, not only because it might normalize the deployment of mass surveillance tools in countries that have so far rejected them, but even more so because it signifies a dramatic transition from ‘over the skin’ to ‘under the skin’ surveillance. This is the choice we are going to have to make, according to the 44 year old, who recently pledged to donate one million dollars to the World Health Organization to help fund their efforts to combat the virus. In determining the type of society that we want to live in and leave to our children, either we accept a system of totalitarianism that legitimates masse surveillance simply because technology now affords us the means to do so, or we build a society based on individual responsibility. A public health emergency, such as the current pandemic, is used to justify the use of this type of intrusive technology, which can also be used by a totalitarian government to tighten control of a population or restrict an individual’s civil liberties.
Mass surveillance or personal responsabilityĪs an example, Harari brings up Covid tracing apps, which allow the authorities to track the spread of the disease. Immature or even dangerous technologies are pressed into service, because the risks of doing nothing are bigger.”
Decisions that in normal times could take years of deliberations are passed in a matter of hours. “Emergencies fast forward historical processes. Harari cautions against what Naomi Klein labelled the ‘Shock Doctrine’, a strategy employed by those in power to exploit times of crisis – war, revolution, pandemics – to push through radical agendas that, in normal times would stand little chance of being accepted. The choices facing the world’s most powerful figures in response to the pandemic are fraught with peril. They will shape not just our healthcare system, but also our economy, politics and culture,” the 44-year-old stated in a recent interview with the Financial Times. “The decisions people and governments take in the next few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. For the renowned Israeli historian and philosopher, these are weighty times.
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