The short answer is: It’s the law. In at least one party and in other cases both are required to give their consent prior to being recorded. This gathering of consent becomes ever more difficult the more people from different states and then different countries are in the rooms.
You can check this Wikipedia Article if your inner geek’s interest is awoken and learn about this in detail on Wikipedia.
Why it is concerning that Thai Protestors and Activists are using Clubhouse to speak about their opinions. Thailand has one of the strictest laws ruling what its citizen and visitors to the country are permitted to say about the Royal Family. Many statements we might not even think of violating the lèse–majesté law can result in serious consequences. A recent Clubhouse room filled to capacity when an outspoken critic of the Royal Family spoke. As you may already know: Clubhouse requires your real name when you sign up. I am not sure how they are going to enforce this. But once you have given your real name anything you say can in theory be held against you. While Clubhouse officially does not permit recordings it is not difficult to violate this rule if you were to be a law enforcement officer seeking to gather evidence of misconduct or incriminating material. Will Thai Clubhouse users be vulnerable to criminal proceedings repercussions? Who then is Clubhouse for? We clearly need to consider to self censor ourselves.
What concerns me about Clubhouse in relation to AI:
Are we all just training Artificial Intelligence to very accurately map our voices, gather and analyse and categorise our spoken words? I am a little uncomfortable with the world that is to come in which a machine can learn what I say, interpret it, perhaps predict it. A platform like Clubhouse has the potential to take this progress incredible heights. What do we really know about Clubhouse? Is IT recording us? Technically our various laws around the world prohibit this. But do these laws prohibit our voices being used for live AI research? Is an AI software/hardware (what are they even, now I am already calling AI they, what’s next?) ‘remembering’ what we say recording?
Perhaps, I am a step ahead of the actual developments. But keep it in mind.
China’s Social credit and our western counter parts. AI loves you.
I want to briefly touch on the Chinese institution of Social credit. In (brutal) short: If one’s social standing in China is low (and it is tracked with an app) then the person’s choices become increasingly restricted. Travel by train? I hear it can become impossible. I think this is something you best look up in more knowledgable space than mine is at this moment.
But before you are accepting and repeating the idea that the Chinese Social Credit system is bad and wherever you in the world are is better. Ask yourself: Is it? I disapprove of the spreading of false information, I disapprove of blatant propaganda and more, but isn’t it concerning when one’s entire social media community is linked to a single company? Hello FB here is looking at you my friend. And with one strike against you too many your life is blocked. Your access to your friends, unavailable, your online business network, inaccessible… you get the idea. What do we think of that? Can you still honestly say that you disapprove of China’s Social credit system when the System our lives are so closely woven around are different but not really?
I think it would serve many of us well to consider more the context in which we learn anything at all. Where do our opinions come from? No really? Where is your opinion about Chihuahua rooted? Is it really your own? Aren’t we all constructs of social systems that include a selected curated list of what we as a group believe about our specific corner of the world? But is that the only truth? Look at it from another angle with another little piece of context and humans are very similar indeed. Variations, yes, but not that different after all. We have more in common than separates us. Ponder that.
The Facebook Monolith is not that dissimilar to China’s Social Credit, isn’t it?
In my case 80% of my communication with anyone I know, personal and professional, takes place on various Facebook owned platforms. You ask what does this have to do with China’s Social credit monitoring an individual’s behaviour and metering out rewards or punishments. Well, I propose that the FB algorithm does nothing less than that. Professionally speaking you rely on your exemplary social media behaviour. Always vulnerable to a stranger reporting you, irrespective of your having done what you stand accused of or not. Doesn’t that sound like the thing you are concerned about in China. For many small business owners this is reality. Self censorship begins there. And doesn’t end there. Would you like me to expand my thoughts in this for you in another post? Please let me know in comments if this is something that interests you.
Before I conclude my thoughts on Social credit. Klarna, essentially a credit / financial company and endorsed by Snoop Dog meters our it’s credit based on your social credibility. Look it up. I found it fascinating, modern and a little hair raising.
Whenever I am alarmed I am also intrigued. The future is certainly unstoppable and I personally feel that it has long gone beyond the point at which we have significant influence. If we can’t stop unnecessary but carcinogenic additives being added to our food, which is comparatively very easy to achieve as an even relatively small collective of likeminded activists, then we absolutely are too late to stop the train of progress, no matter where it will ultimately deliver us to. So, in short, I am not going to be left behind and will make as much use as I can of what the 21st century speed train is going to bring. And I think you should, too. (But perhaps read some small print from time to time or at least censor yourself before you blurt out things you might regret later. )
Why I love Clubhouse and why I think you might to.
Would you like to read my thoughts on why I love Clubhouse and why I think you might, too? If you do then please let me know and I won’t take a year to write and will instead get some thoughts down for you this weekend.
Some keywords that pop to mind and I could wax lyrical about: Clubhouse for confidence, Clubhouse for self therapy, Clubhouse for a sense of belonging, make friends on Clubhouse. Drop your social barriers on clubhouse.
Birgit Over 7 Seas 