Reaction on the documentary “The great hack”

Nunez, Josias.
Sat. Aug. 24, 2019
Prof. Pedro Santiago; Data Structures.

The film starts with some question about ‘a dream that tear us apart’ a dream that in the first
place us imagined bringing us together. Questions about an industry that takes and hold our
data – personal information, likes, dislikes, interests, and so on – to associates us with people
with similar interests, to bring us together, to share and growth as digital community and
maybe that interactions could be translated into real world friendships in the best case
scenario.

But we never thought that these tools that gave us the freedom to interact with other people
with no boundaries could harm us in ways that we never imagine before. That the feed, the
wall, and whatever the name can be; that space of the page that shows us the most ‘relevant’
information about our best interests was, is or will be used to catch our attention with the fake,
the emotional unstable and all sort of thing that serve to the opposite purpose of what those
tools were created or imagine in the past. That we gave our consent accepting the ‘terms and
condition’ to freed us from our physical position and take us virtually to wherever we wanted to
be and now we are trap in this manmade and personalize reality that in most case, I would say,
shapes our view of the world and the believes that we embrace and act upon it.

I would consider this documentary as an eye-opening work from which we can draw some
interesting conclusions. Be aware of what is requested from us in any kind of interaction, let
this be personal or digital; what is the least I can give in order to keep my personal life as
private as possible, and if I really need the service/product provided or I can dismiss it in the
pursued of the sense of ownership of my life that I believe is very rewarding, just to mention a
few ones.

I/we have to awake to the reality that out there most of the businesses are trying constantly to
take the money out of our pocket and they do not feel any moral guilty on using
communication warfare to achieve the goal. I believe so far what David Hume said, that “the
power is always in the hand of the governed” and I would add that the governed will use that
power for the greater good if they are well informed. The technologies used now days to collect
data, analyze it, and take back to us in forms of personal adds are not known for the majority of
population and as ignorant/victims are just suffering the consequences of things that did not
know about it.

Lastly, I remember what is said in the Bible in John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free”. This can be spread out on many things on life, and I think no more
words are needed.