“What
is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on
your head are all numbered. So don’t be
afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. Luke
12:6-7(NLT)
If you have a Facebook
account you have participated in facial recognition technology! Every time you upload a picture with a
person’s face as part of the image, those little boxes show up and encourage
you to “tag” (identify) the person. With
the number of “selfies” taken and uploaded these days, Facebook alone must have
a database of images, names and what color eyeshade sells best about as big as
three universes!
According to a report on
the website of Interesting
Engineering, facial recognition
technology is a favorite of marketing firms.
Retailers want to track your information so they can send you offers on special
deals (as well as identifying potential criminals!).
Privacy issues are a big
concern with some groups who understand that the private information of people
ought to be kept that way, unless you give your permission. Some of the possible abuses of information are
suggested by the article:
One of the biggest worries of the privacy groups against
the technology is that people could be profiled and targeted. One company who
has used facial recognition is Facebook and they have used it for categorizing
and identifying pictures.
Therefore they know which products people look at when they are online as they
scan the cookies which come from the websites of retailers. They then use this
information to send you product ads. Another
worry is hacking. Passwords and credit card numbers can easily be changed but you cannot change your
face if it has been scanned. The privacy groups say that categorizing people
based on their face is invasive,
even if that person isn’t named.
I’m a little uneasy with
giving out too much personal information.
I tend to make my passwords and personal identification numbers long and
complicated to protect against hackers and other bad guys.
The “point” of all this
security and watchdog guard duty over the big bad marketers and government intrusion into our
privacy, is because we want to protect our property; we want to hold onto that which
belongs to us!
Which brings me to the
point of today’s devotion: so does God!
Jesus said God knows the
hair count on your head, and that suggests our God is into much more than
facial recognition technology; it tells us He knows all about us, and
cares what happens.
And He cares for a reason
bigger than that he wants to know what shampoo we use, or what kind of car we
want to drive. God is not into selling
us anything; He cares that we should get to enjoy eternity living in His
eternal paradise called heaven.
And he cares that we have
a fulfilled and meaningful life with purpose during these few short years we
walk here on the dust of planet earth.
He cares, and he has tagged
us as friends.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have
told you everything the
Father told me. John 15:15(NLT)
For You Today
So the question today isn’t what’s in your wallet
from the marketers at Capital One™.
The question today is Who’s in your heart, from
the God, Creator and Sustainer and Lover of your soul!
[1]
Title image: By
Jimmy_answering_questions.jpg: Wikimania2009 Beatrice Murch derivative work:
via Wikimedia
Commons
No comments:
Post a Comment