…the protoype of the Speech Jammer gun, which could be used to silence “negative aspects of speech.” Though it looks like a rudimentary tool now, it could easily be made smaller, less visible, and much sleeker as a frequently utilized silencer — a “speech-jamming device that forces recalcitrant speakers into submission.” Since it is a gun that could be used from a distance, it sounds like the perfect enforcement vehicle for a perfectly Orwellian existence, one that could one day remotely silence any public protest and dissident speech.
See the potential uses for quieting “annoyances” in boardrooms, classrooms, courtrooms, and breakrooms? Using delayed auditory feedback, when “shot,” it sends back one’s own words to interrupt his own thoughts, much like the delay on video chats or hearing feedback of oneself on the radio. While I can think of a few on whom I would like to aim this gun in theory, I would not ever want it aimed at myself.
So the questions arise — who gets to use the gun, and who warrants having his speech artificially disturbed? I think the investors would be interested in silencing much more talk than goes on in cinemas and public libraries. Don’t you?
Thank you, Japanese researchers. I’m just saying that out loud. I can think whatever I want — specifically, the question of whose money is behind this dystopian technology, and under whose laws its operation would be allowed?
Answer: Whoever the hell owns the technology.
Found via Metafilter
Like Be the first one who likes this post!