The most recent tool for use in Social Technology is Recursive Exhaustion, which can be used for the very large scale collection of social data. This data can (and will) be collected automatically without people’s knowledge or permission. It can collect information on people who do not use computers. It can collect information on people whose friends and family do not us computers.
On the one hand, this could be a very good thing. Having a lot of information about poor people or refugees in distant countries could make it possible to direct governmental and non-governmental aid to the most needy without delay. It could also be used for all the other worthy goals discussed on these websites. On the other hand there would be a complete loss of privacy. Individuals would be wide open to blackmail and intimidation.
I hope that this is not already being done. It is almost impossible to stop except by using it under extreme legal conditions to find the people abusing it.
