Transcript: I think maybe in a couple of decades when people look back,
the thing they will remember from the COVID crisis
is this is the moment when everything went digital.
And this was the moment when everything became monitored,
that we agreed to be surveyed all the time,
not just in authoritarian machines,
but even in democracies.
And maybe most importantly at all,
this was the moment when surveillance started going
under the skin, because really we haven't seen anything yet.
I think that the big process that's happening right now
in the world is hacking human beings, the ability
to hack humans, to understand deeply what's
happening within you, what makes you go.
And for that, the most important data
is not what you read and who you meet and what you buy,
it's what's happening inside your body.
So we had these two big revolutions,
the computer science revolution or the infotech revolution
and the revolution in the biological sciences.
And they are still separate, but they are about to merge.
They are merging around, I would say, the biometric sensor.
It's the thing, it's the gadget,
it's the technology that converts biological data
into digital data that can be analyzed by computers.
And having the ability to really monitor people
under the skin, this is the biggest game changer of all.
Because this is the key for getting to know people
better than they know themselves.
I often give the example from my own personal life
that I realized I was gay only when I was 21.
And I keep thinking about the time when I was 15, 16,
how could I have missed it?
Something so important about myself,
should have been obvious, but I didn't know.
Now, today or in five or 10 years, any algorithm
of Microsoft or Amazon or the government
would be able to know such a thing when I'm 12 or 13,
just by monitoring what's happening in my body,
what's happening to my eyes,
when I, let's say I see a boy and a girl walking on the beach.
Where do my eyes focus?
So this is the crucial revolution.
And COVID is critical because this is what convinces people
to accept, to legitimize total biometric surveillance.
If we want to stop this epidemic, maybe not just
to monitor people, we need to monitor what's happening
under the skin, their body temperature.
Like we walked in here, we had to go through a body
temperature test.
Even in Israel, it has become a national security issue, right?
So again, I'm not against surveillance.
It's an important tool, especially to fight epidemics.
The question is again, who is doing it and how?
If you give it to the security service to do it,
that's extremely dangerous.
Yes, now they're using it to see whether you have the coronavirus.
But exactly the same technology can determine
what you think about the government.
You know, anger is a biological phenomena just like disease.
It's not some spiritual thing out there.
It's a biological pattern in your body.
With this kind of surveillance, I mean,
you watch the big president, the big leader,
give the speech on television.
The television could be monitoring you
and knowing whether you're angry or not, just by analyzing
the cues, the biological cues coming from your body.
So now people are now watching us online all over the world,
this conversation.
Now, maybe even right now, the people who are watching us
are being watched and analyzed.
And the thing is, it's not just you're now watching this.
The thing is, we know that you are watching this
and we also know how you feel.
Are you angry about what you hear?
Are you frightened?
Are you bald?
This is the kind of power that Stalin didn't have.
You know, when Stalin gave a speech, everybody,
of course, clapped their hand and smiled.
Now, how do you know what they really think about Stalin?
It's very difficult.
You can't have a KGB agent following everybody all the time.
Even if you do it, he's just watching your outside behavior.
He doesn't really know what's happening in your mind.
But in 10 years, the future Stalin's of the 21st century,
they could be watching the minds, the brains,
of all the population all the time,
and also they will have the computing power
to analyze all that.
You know, it's not just having an agent
following everybody all the time.
The agent in Stalin's days writes a paper report
and you have these millions of paper reports piling up
in Moscow, somebody needs to read them
to analyze them, that's impossible.
Now, you don't need human agents.
You don't need human analyzers.
You just have a lot of sensors and an AI which analyzes it.
And that's it.
You have the worst totalitarian regime in history.
And COVID is important because COVID legitimizes
some of the crucial steps, even in democratic countries.
Transcript: I think maybe in a couple of decades when people look back, the thing they will remember from the COVID crisis is this is the moment when everything went digital. And this was the moment when everything became monitored, that we agreed to be surveyed all the time, not just in authoritarian machines, but even in democracies. And maybe most importantly at all, this was the moment when surveillance started going under the skin, because really we haven't seen anything yet. I think that the big process that's happening right now in the world is hacking human beings, the ability to hack humans, to understand deeply what's happening within you, what makes you go. And for that, the most important data is not what you read and who you meet and what you buy, it's what's happening inside your body. So we had these two big revolutions, the computer science revolution or the infotech revolution and the revolution in the biological sciences. And they are still separate, but they are about to merge. They are merging around, I would say, the biometric sensor. It's the thing, it's the gadget, it's the technology that converts biological data into digital data that can be analyzed by computers. And having the ability to really monitor people under the skin, this is the biggest game changer of all. Because this is the key for getting to know people better than they know themselves. I often give the example from my own personal life that I realized I was gay only when I was 21. And I keep thinking about the time when I was 15, 16, how could I have missed it? Something so important about myself, should have been obvious, but I didn't know. Now, today or in five or 10 years, any algorithm of Microsoft or Amazon or the government would be able to know such a thing when I'm 12 or 13, just by monitoring what's happening in my body, what's happening to my eyes, when I, let's say I see a boy and a girl walking on the beach. Where do my eyes focus? So this is the crucial revolution. And COVID is critical because this is what convinces people to accept, to legitimize total biometric surveillance. If we want to stop this epidemic, maybe not just to monitor people, we need to monitor what's happening under the skin, their body temperature. Like we walked in here, we had to go through a body temperature test. Even in Israel, it has become a national security issue, right? So again, I'm not against surveillance. It's an important tool, especially to fight epidemics. The question is again, who is doing it and how? If you give it to the security service to do it, that's extremely dangerous. Yes, now they're using it to see whether you have the coronavirus. But exactly the same technology can determine what you think about the government. You know, anger is a biological phenomena just like disease. It's not some spiritual thing out there. It's a biological pattern in your body. With this kind of surveillance, I mean, you watch the big president, the big leader, give the speech on television. The television could be monitoring you and knowing whether you're angry or not, just by analyzing the cues, the biological cues coming from your body. So now people are now watching us online all over the world, this conversation. Now, maybe even right now, the people who are watching us are being watched and analyzed. And the thing is, it's not just you're now watching this. The thing is, we know that you are watching this and we also know how you feel. Are you angry about what you hear? Are you frightened? Are you bald? This is the kind of power that Stalin didn't have. You know, when Stalin gave a speech, everybody, of course, clapped their hand and smiled. Now, how do you know what they really think about Stalin? It's very difficult. You can't have a KGB agent following everybody all the time. Even if you do it, he's just watching your outside behavior. He doesn't really know what's happening in your mind. But in 10 years, the future Stalin's of the 21st century, they could be watching the minds, the brains, of all the population all the time, and also they will have the computing power to analyze all that. You know, it's not just having an agent following everybody all the time. The agent in Stalin's days writes a paper report and you have these millions of paper reports piling up in Moscow, somebody needs to read them to analyze them, that's impossible. Now, you don't need human agents. You don't need human analyzers. You just have a lot of sensors and an AI which analyzes it. And that's it. You have the worst totalitarian regime in history. And COVID is important because COVID legitimizes some of the crucial steps, even in democratic countries.