Real World Semantics

Someone will build the bomb

Sebastian comments on my previous post:

How am I supposed to act in a self-responsible manner if I want to "safely use a public, globally linked network" under these conditions? Unplug my laptop?

As much as I hate to admit this: If by "safely" you mean anonymously unplugging your PC will be the only option. The data is there, and it is technically possible to have a smart program look at the whole web and find out which parts belong together. Nobody has done that yet, but someone will. Someone will build the bomb.

The bomb won't be built in bad faith. On the contrary a whole new world of possibilities awaits us. But the delusion of anonymity, the idea that a document can only be "somewhat" publicly accessible, these will be among the collateral damage. We will no longer be able to rely on the big sky theory that a piece of information can somehow "drown" in the Internet's vast pool of data.

Back to your question, Sebastian, I believe that self responsibility means to be aware of these things. Be aware of what you publish. Be aware of where you publish. Know that there won't be a gray zone anymore. Private and public, full anonymity or none at all. There will be nothing in between.