Vicky: Hello and welcome to today's episode of The Upload. We're talking about the OPTIK, and how it's changed our lives.
Now as you remember, BLUME announced a new version of the OPTIK at the recent TOAN conference. But we haven't heard too much about that since due to the dramatic events there.
Let's cast our minds back and consider the technology. I mean, the OPTIK changed everything. It lets you see things in AR - you no longer need a smartphone!
You just have a small implant that sends signals to your optic nerve and lets you see your emails, take calls, and browse the internet directly as if the screen was in front of your eyes.
Instead of having to carry around a phone, you've just got the small handheld unit. So much lighter, and so much more convenient - it's great!
Matt: Vicky, you sound like you absolutely love the OPTIK. Do you actually think that it's made our lives any better?
Vicky: I mean sure, it's definitely made things a lot easier! It's so simple to call someone now, all you have to do is choose who you want to chat to and they're there, ready to talk.
And browsing the web is so much easier. I remember when you used to have to sit down at a computer, with an actual keyboard and mouse, and type everything out.
My favourite feature is public transport - with the OPTIK you can just walk straight onto the tube!
It even acts as a passport, no longer do I have to dig around and try and find my old paper passport just to travel somewhere.
Also, I thought that the OPTIK's marketing strategy - making it free for people - was a stroke of genius.
Matt: Genius? BLUME was really calculated when it was doing that. It was pushing this draconian device on us, at all.
Sure everybody flocked to it - there was free WiFi, and phone plans. That definitely helped, but it wasn't a case of "this is a product that you need in your life".
Vicky: Why do you hate it so much?
Matt: It's just the worst because you have to give up your privacy expectations and accept surveillance.
It was almost like the government and BLUME didn't even need to make the OPTIK mandatory. Making it mandatory was -- only to get the last holdouts across the line.
If free data didn't convince you - fines and arrest from the state for not having the OPTIK would pretty much be enough.
Vicky: I mean, what do you mean by privacy problems? Nobody really talks about that anymore.
Matt: They don't talk about it because we don't have any choice when it comes to the OPTIK. Yes, it's convenient, and mandatory, but everybody's forgotten what it really means.
Here you've got a whole company owning basically all the data about your life. BLUME can see everything that you can see, nothing is private anymore.
There are so many times when I don't want anyone to have a clue about where I am, who I'm chatting, what I'm doing - it's mot even dodgy stuff, but I just don't want anybody to blackmail me in the future by hacking it.
And because of BLUME's contracts with the government, it isn't just BLUME that can see everything I do, it's the government. The UK as a state has become a complete surveillance paradise.
Vicky: I think you're painting a bit of a bleak picture, it's not all that bad.
Matt: No, you're completely wrong on this. I don't want everybody tracking me whenever I'm going around London.
Vicky: Well in that case you might be interested in some rumours I heard.
Did you hear that some DedSec hackers have found a way to bypass the OPTIK's connection to BLUME?
Matt: Are they actually making it better, or usable, or actually friendly for anybody?
Vicky: Well, word on the street is that they've been able to create an encrypted signal, which means that your world might have a chance of becoming a bit more private again, so you can go back and enjoy all the great things about OPTIK without the fear of surveillance.
Matt: With the OPTIK, privacy is dead.
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