MEMOTO LIFELOGGING CAMERA: ‘WE DO ENCOURAGE USERS TO BE TRANSPARENT’ ~ CO-FOUNDER

 

ED Noor: Call me antiquated, but I don’t want one of these things around me! This technology opens up for more kinds of abuse than we can even imagine at this point in its development and addition to our already over-crowded social communication landscape.  Personally, I ask, what will happen to our memories if we don’t have to remember anything? 
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Before they learned reading and writing, many peoples carried their histories by memory and the oral tradition; as they became “educated” the old ways became forgotten only now to be, in some cases, resuscitated on what memories remain. According to the video, you don't even have to remember your life events: all you have to do is punch in a date and everything pops up for you!
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I can see use for this with perhaps people at risk, medical usage, perhaps law enforcement along the line of ankle bracelets to monitor various individuals.  However, the opportunities for abuse abound. 
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Having trained a child regarding courtesy and the phone revolution, we know there are ethical challenges ahead. There should not be, but people seem to have no sense when these devices come into use. 
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All that being said, the mind wanders to... what if someone wearing that device were present at say... 911, Sandy Hook... this could be a game changer. Instead of rounding up cells and cams, the government alphabet guys would be looking for anyone in the locale wearing one of these Memotos.
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Part of me realizes my reaction could just be the result of my curmudgeonlike ways, but face it, as a realist, how can one NOT see the problems here? 

Another step in the development of a brain-dead civilization. Or, as reader Macht Nichts so brilliantly words it below in the comment section:

Seems to me this reinforces the matrix. You know, that construct you have to plug into to receive your version of reality. No thoughts allowed, just look at the pictures. Another step on the way to soulless transhumanism

By Sarah Neary

Voice of Russia

December 17, 2013

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Support is strong for an automatic hands-free camera dubbed Memoto Lifelogging that has five thousand already pre-ordered for its autumn release. Despite possible privacy concerns, the camera that clicks away every 30 seconds has received positive ratings from testers. In an exclusive interview for the Voice of Russia, co-founder of the company Oskar Kalmaru revealed what new social rules people are bound to make along with probable hurdles the device is to face in the future.
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“It resonates just as well with older people as with younger although the benefits of the product groups see are maybe different,” said Co-Founder of the Memoto Oskar Kalmaru and continued,

“but we have interest from all types of groups and there is no significant difference in concern over privacy.”

ED Noor: Where do they find such naive individuals? How can ANYONE not see potential for concern?
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This bite-size device that snags onto dress shirts and t-shirts alike, allows users to take two photos per minute without even pressing a button. Camera owners can go back to those very moments that they did not realize were going to be memorable. The benefit is the automatic snapshots which are being taken.
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However, issues of privacy do come to surface as some people may feel uneasy about the camera’s deliberate autopilot picture-taking feature. 
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“We do encourage users to be transparent with that they are wearing the camera and not try to hide it in any way and that’s also why we have designed the camera to be clearly visible with the colors and with the shape of it as opposed to what a spy camera is,” Kalmaru said to the Voice of Russia.

Though, with camera sales down at least 43 percent in the North American market, this may just be the facelift the industry has been hoping for to create a spike in sales. A plethora of research has been done in the lifelogging field for two or three decades. It has since been discovered that having the camera take a picture twice per minute is the most optimum frequency people are comfortable with. This time limit is enough to capture the special moments during an event, and are not thought to be overwhelming.
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As when cellphones became the new gadget on the block, new social rules came along with the device making users change the way they behave in certain environments. Kalmaru believes that will be the same case with Memoto’s new camera.

“We’ve already seen that in the testing we’ve done that users and people around the users very quickly adapt to,” the Co-Founder said and then added, “something like a social contract around it, like when it is appropriate to use it and when is it not.”

The eminent social contract surrounding the device will not be clear until wearers in large masses have received their product and begin to actively use it. Only then will by-passers and users alike be able to form rules around when the electronic is safe to use, and when putting this small piece of technology away is more polite. Kalmaru said that

“in certain meetings or when people around you are in a certain mood or something like that” is a paramount time to stash the device far away from public sight.

Capturing a picture of every moment throughout the day may seem extreme, however many professionals in a variety of fields have been delightfully interested in the device, as it could come in handy for their job.

“It might feel comforting to have a camera that you know is going to take pictures of what’s happening around you, if something happens you’ll have a photo of it,” Kalmaru explained.

Workers in the field of security and even marketing can use the pictures that the Memoto Lifelogging Camera took throughout the day to piece together a crime or a special marketing campaign.

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Memoto’s automatic picture taking device though is no Google Glass. Since the camera is always on, people around a Memoto user knows that the camera is on, while people around a Google Glass user might find themselves wondering if its camera is on or not. The device is compact, yet it never wants to be hidden from the public’s eye, transparency is something the company strives on.
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Although the public may be ready for the device, some could oppose the small camera as they might become uncomfortable over the fact that the device is constantly taking snapshots of or near them. It is unclear on the sound reaction the public will give to this device. More time after the release and testing need attention as upgrades are inevitable and social reactions are bound to be mixed.