@moneybagley asks, "In your wildest dreams, what are the most dangerous things that could happen due to living in a surveillance state? (Worst case scenario)"
This is a fun question. Worst case scenario that I can think of right now would be the government using our data to blackmail citizens into doing things or using private data as a way to have unmanageable control. I think this could be a really cool dystopian novel. Let's say that the government found out you said something bad about a public figure through your personal text messages or emails. They sell those comments and receipts of your conversation to the publicists of those public figures who then can make your life miserable by blackmailing in order to make your talk kindly about the person. Basically, the removal of free speech because of data tracking.
It always baffles me how much our data, as just an individual, is worth. With so many people in the world, why is MY data so valuable to a big tech company?
This possibility of government control via our "private" data and blackmail does not seem entirely impossible to me, which is terrifying. I think that this reality would be an outcome of a communist revolution in America. And with how present the media and big tech is within our daily actions, choices, and information, I don't think we can rule this scenario out.
The book Fahrenheit 451 has a similar motif with the government burning all of the books so people would not be able to think for themselves. I also fear the reality of the society in Wall-E. Will big tech companies pretend and promise to solve all of society's problems but then actually exploit and control us unfairly taking away free speech? Seems like a worst-case scenario to me.
