14 DAY TRIAL // We got to thinking about this aspect, after covering a story about the Pavlok wrist band. Inspired by the way scientists do things in laboratory setting, where they administer shocks to their test subjects in order to cue them to act a way or another, the Pavlok hopes the technique will apply to human subjects, as well.
This seems to us a little bit extreme and conjures up memories of animal experiments like the one performed by Martin Seligman on dogs.
Seligman used the animals as subjects in order to understand how control is perceived. The experimenters would place a dog on one side of the box that was divided in half by a low barrier. Then they would administer a shock, which was avoidable if the dog jumped the barrier to the other half.
Seligman also harnessed a group of dogs and randomly administered shocks, which were totally unavoidable. So if such an experiment was deemed unethical and cruel why would be the Pavlok be allowed to go mainstream?
Supposedly, because, as a human you have control of whether you want be to be shocked or not. But Pavlok also allows you to give shock control to one of your friends, without maybe considering the possibility they might enjoy it too much.
The Pavlok also brings forth another settling issue. Are we incapable of exercising our free will and self control? Do we actually need painful constraints in order to deliver something to term? We certainly hope not.
Pavlok is showing us that wearable technology can get cruel and this is certainly not something we like to see. As history has shown us, a lot of “benevolent” inventions have been used for all the wrong purposes.
The Pavlok is not the only reason we’re saying wearables are taking it too far. A recent comic strip clearly showcases the difference between what people behind smartwatches want us to think these devices are for and what’s their true purpose is.
The creepiest part will be this information will allow tech companies to feed you the most revenant ads and you won’t be able to say no to do them. Pretty sneaky to say the least, not to mention effective.
So at this moment in history when Edward Snowden has become well known for leaking evidence that the NSA (National Security Agency) is piling up information about who we call, who we email, will people rush to pick up one of this little tracking devices?
If we listen to market watchers, wearables are one the wave and demand for them is expected to rise quite sensibly in the upcoming months. But this is quite baffling.
Apparently, surveillance technology is taking a different route disguised into neat, cute, looking wearables. The government can have cameras everywhere, or people can have devices which pretty much relay the same info. Of course the second scenario looks harmless. Are you considering getting one?