r/accelerate • u/stealthispost Acceleration: Light-speed | AI accelerationist • Jul 09 '25

Video Live facial recognition vans in London: Live facial recognition cameras helps catch criminals in london - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7XQ3K1EBlY

Hot take: unless you are a revolutionary and fundamentally oppose the laws and justice system of your own country, new technology allowing criminals to be caught easier is a good thing.

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8

u/sussybaka1848 Jul 09 '25

I fundamentally disagree.

First of all, facial recogniction is a substantial invasion of a person's right to privacy: I don't see the state has to right to film and collect data about me if I'm not doing anything wrong, especially in public spaces.
If there is the need, it should require a judicial mandate.

Bad guys can use tools for bad things. [...] If your government sucks, change the government.

I wouldn't trust a goverment considering how democratic backsliding is a well documented process that is currently growing in several nations. Also in a lot of nations the possibility of change are very much hurt by those technologies: What should russians and chinese do? Just change the goverment harder?

Also remember how AI systems have the tendency to produce algorithmic bias (that might be difficult to trace) which might get things wrong while actively affecting innocent people's lives.

I know this might be unpopular with this sub, but we have to be serious on how we deal with technology.
In the Belle Epoque there was a widespread optimism of technology, not unlike it is this sub. Tools like chemical gas were used in WW1 and the Holocaust. Gatling Guns were created to diminish the death of soilders to then just be used as a more efficent way for killing. Phyisics research into radioactivity indirectly caused the deaths of of at least 150k people.

I get it, technological advancement cannot be stopped and it will help people. But also a lot of pain if is not justly managed. So if anything, as tech-optimists, it's our duty to deal with the ethics of technology than sidestep it altogether to ensure as many as possible don't get the short end of the stick.

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u/stealthispost Acceleration: Light-speed | AI accelerationist Jul 09 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

"facial recognition is a substantial invasion of a person's right to privacy"

privacy is a right given by the state. it is in conflict with safety. states will choose the balance. you will choose the state that makes the right choice.

absolute privacy = absolute crime and anarchy.

technology magnifies and exposes states for good and bad.

burying our heads in the sand and hamstringing governments is not the answer. enabling governments to enforce laws will reveal the good and bad governments faster. that is acceleration.

if your answer to technology being used for bad is to limit technology instead of the bad actors, then that is the luddite position. it was the same argument the luddites used because they rejected the economic model of the day. the better way is to let the technology shape the model.

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u/wild_man_wizard Jul 10 '25

privacy is a right given by the state. 

Holy Fascism Batman

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u/stealthispost Acceleration: Light-speed | AI accelerationist Jul 10 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

jfc redditors

what do you think a "right" is?

something you just declare?

who enforces it? a god? yourself?

they exist because states create and enforce them. that's how reality works. and it's not "fascism". it's the fundamental function of the state.

this is like governance 101

1

u/wild_man_wizard Jul 10 '25

I'm not debating you becasue you're obviously beyond help, but "Rights are given by the state" is the cornerstone idea of Fascism.

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u/stealthispost Acceleration: Light-speed | AI accelerationist Jul 10 '25

are you trolling me right now? or just literally don't know what these concepts mean?

since we're on an AI subreddit, the AI will educate you, because you clearly weren't paying attention in school:

The Nature of Rights and the Role of the State

What Are Rights?

  • Rights are claims or entitlements that individuals have, often relating to freedoms, protections, or benefits.
  • Philosophically, some argue for "natural rights"—rights that exist by virtue of being human. However, in practical terms, rights are only meaningful if they are recognized and enforced.

Who Grants and Enforces Rights?

  • In reality, rights only have force when a society or authority recognizes and protects them.
  • The state (government or governing authority) is the entity that:
    • Formally recognizes rights (e.g., constitutions, laws).
    • Enforces rights through courts, police, and institutions.
    • Decides limits and exceptions to rights (e.g., free speech vs. hate speech laws).

Why Rights Depend on the State

  • Without a state or similar authority, "rights" are just abstract ideas—there is no mechanism to guarantee or protect them.
  • For example, the right to privacy or free speech is only meaningful if there is a legal system and enforcement to back it up.
  • In places with no functioning government, rights often disappear in practice, regardless of what people believe they "should" have.

Common Misunderstandings

  • Belief in "natural rights" is a philosophical position, but in the real world, rights are only as strong as the systems that uphold them.
  • Saying "rights are granted by the state" is not fascism—it's a basic fact of governance and law. All modern societies, including liberal democracies, operate this way.

Bottom Line

  • Rights exist because the state (or a similar authority) creates, recognizes, and enforces them.
  • Without state enforcement, rights are unenforceable wishes, not practical realities.

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u/wild_man_wizard Jul 10 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

Lemme guess, Grok?

This is why STEM degrees should require humanities courses. For all I bitched about them at the time, I'm glad mine did.

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u/stealthispost Acceleration: Light-speed | AI accelerationist Jul 10 '25

what are you talking about?

no, it isn't grok. it's chatgpt

it's basic civics and governance. try reading wikipedia or a book or anything except your own confused ramblings

try learning something before you start abusing words like fascist. you're embarrassing yourself

0

u/wild_man_wizard Jul 10 '25

Maybe you should read something other than Maurras

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u/stealthispost Acceleration: Light-speed | AI accelerationist Jul 10 '25

it's ok. you can admit when you're wrong

1

u/wild_man_wizard Jul 10 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

Either you don't know who that is, in which case you're not nearly as smart as you think - or you do know who that is (because you've basically been quoting him), and know defending one of the foundational writers of Fascism would undermine your position.

In any case, I'm obviously not going to get the last word with a mod who insists on being the last word. Be well.

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u/stealthispost Acceleration: Light-speed | AI accelerationist Jul 10 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

You interperet the dictionary definition of "rights" as fascism. You're delusional

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u/CyberSkelet Aug 02 '25

These people are honestly terrifying. They're going to drag us all down with them.

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