The Price of Privacy

By Willie Brown

If you’ve attended a game or concert at SoFi, then you know the entire stadium is cashless.  Your paper money is no good there.  This week’s article by Veronica Mackey talks about next-level technology at the Intuit Dome, which has done away with credit card terminals altogether.  Facial recognition technology and overhead cameras follow fans around, capturing everything they pick up and take out.

Technology at Intuit allows you into the concession stand, where you can choose as many items as you want, and then walk out. When you use credit and debit cards, you don’t feel the same sting as you do with cash.  But using just your face to make a purchase can make you feel invincible, even magical.

Veronica’s -piece got me thinking about how far technology has advanced relative to how we shop.  A website called Grabango (www.grabango,com) explains that the system used and installed in retail stores is “unobtrusively located above the shopping area. The system monitors the location of all products whether on the shelf, in someone’s basket or with a shopper leaving the store. Shoppers enter the store, select the items they want and exit without waiting in line.”  Customers just scan the code on the app and payment is automatic.  The system tracks what you spend and creates your receipt right in the app. 

Shopping with apps like Grabango is pretty painless, right?  But I can’t stop wondering how all this convenience is impacting my personal freedom.  On one hand, you are free to shop and go without standing in long lines.  On the other hand, you cannot have this freedom without compromising your privacy. 

Today convenience is king, and folks are more than willing hand over their personal data—even their face—to have it.  If you can control what happens from your cell phone, if you can get what you want at the touch of a button, anywhere in the world, why wouldn’t you? 

For years, the “Powers That Be” have been training us to hand over our identity and financial credentials without hesitation.  They’ve conditioned us to shop without cash in brick-and-mortar stores and online. 

There was a time when folks would only use a credit card for emergencies or large purchases.  Now, with the introduction of perks like bonus travel miles and discounts on hotels, people are more willing to sign on the electronically-generated dotted line.   

They make it so easy, so attractive, we sometimes forget that every time we tap or swipe our cards, we are essentially telling police, advertisers, the government, and who knows who else, where we are, what we bought and how much we paid.  There are no secrets and anyone who thinks they can get away with anything is just plain delusional.

I remember 6 years ago, having dinner with a friend.  I did not pay for dinner.  I did not use my phone to post anything on social media.  Two days later, Google sent me a text asking how I enjoyed the service at the Cheesecake Factory.

According to Grabango, adults spend 32.89 hours of their lives waiting in lines at grocery stores. Reading this makes me want to be smarter about how I spend my time.  Time is life, and herein lies the obvious appeal of time-saving technology.  Have fun, enjoy your life, and save time whenever you can.  Use cash whenever and wherever it is still allowed.  And, remember, there’s always a price to pay for convenience.