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A comment on People leave molecular wakes that may give away their secrets. Parent comment

Re:People leave molecular wakes that may give away their sec... by _jal on Friday February 21, 2020 @09:49PM (#22389057)
As a descriptive matter, yes. But from an interpersonal perspective, it is the raw material of a large change.

Like a lot of tech, it favors those already in a powerful position. If you make it cheaper and easier for a nosy boss to be nosy, they will be nosier. Cops will have a field day figuring out exactly how far courts will let them push things. And so on.

The potential for surreptitious sampling also opens up new angles for general snooping and blackmail.

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Re:People leave molecular wakes that may give away their sec... by emmelaich on Friday February 21, 2020 @09:56PM (#22389090)
But if you make it cheaper, then that tilts the balance slightly toward the less well off!

Not saying it's any thing equal, but imagine being able to 'get dirt' on those in power easily.

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Re:People leave molecular wakes that may give away their sec... by zwkrt on Friday February 21, 2020 @10:20PM (#22389191)
I disagree. If these devices were free they would still increase the power divide between those who can wield force and those who can’t. Maybe even more so.
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Re:People leave molecular wakes that may give away their sec... by _jal on Friday February 21, 2020 @10:39PM (#22389253)
Exactly. These things are more often a force multiplier than an equalizer.
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Re:People leave molecular wakes that may give away their sec... by emmelaich on Saturday February 22, 2020 @01:31AM (#22389732)
My argument is that currently the price is effectively infinite for all but the very rich.

Now, it's a lot less.

That is to say, n/∞ << n/x.

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Re:People leave molecular wakes that may give away their sec... by wtmt on Friday February 21, 2020 @10:47PM (#22389296)
It could make it easier, but it takes a lot more effort and time for the “less well off” to expose “those in power” and be taken seriously enough to bring about change...that’s assuming they’re not harmed in the process of doing so. If information about those in power could solve problems of corruption and other evils, many problems we see today wouldn’t linger on for decades.
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