Image by Frank Lindecke, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.
Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:
1. Moscow's local authorities are upgrading the city's massive CCTV network of security cameras with facial recognition technology to assist police with identifying criminal activity on the streets. A collection of 170,000 security cameras have already been monitoring the city and recording millions of hours of video since 2012. During a six-month test run of the new system, the cops were reportedly able to catch six suspects that would've presumably evaded capture without the assistance of the new technology. There are privacy concerns with facial recognition technology—just think about what would happen if the system is infiltrated by third-parties who use the information to know where Moscow's citizens live, work, and the specific routes that they normally take. And it's worth mentioning that the city cannot afford to upgrade all of its security cameras at this time—the plan is to upgrade the ones that are located in areas that have the greatest need. It would be wise to anticipate the eventual spread of facial recognition technology to other locations in the future.
2. I'm a pretty big fan of efficient, inexpensive public transportation, which is why I enjoyed this analysis of why public transportation sucks in the United States. Strap in for a short history of the streetcar, bus, and personal automobile.
3. Here's an entertaining video clip of Robert Anton Wilson calling Donald Trump "fucking crazy" from back in the day.
That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.