The Great Surveillance Scheme: How a South African Company is Turning Delivery Bikes into Digital Spying Devices
In a brazen attempt to cash in on the growing demand for online food delivery, South African company Polygon has taken the concept of digital outdoor advertising to a whole new level – literally. The company has developed a programmable smart box that is attached to delivery bikes in urban centers, displaying targeted ads to passersby based on location and time of day.
But at what cost? These sleek, high-tech boxes, which weigh a mere 20kg, come equipped with cameras that use facial recognition technology to count the number of people and vehicles that pass by. It’s like having a permanent surveillance system on wheels. And if that’s not enough, Polygon is also working on a feature that uses Wi-Fi to track the number of devices nearby, essentially creating a permanent digital footprint of everyone around the bike.
When questioned about the safety of these devices, Polygon’s CEO Remi du Preez downplayed concerns about criminal activity, claiming that the tracking device helped recover a stolen bike in the past year. But the real question is: how long before these devices are hacked or exploited by criminals?
The company’s CEO also boasted about the data they collect, stating that it’s anonymized and never shared with third-party companies. But how do we know that for certain? And what happens if someone decides to reverse-engineer the system to identify individual users?
Polygon claims that their smart boxes will help local businesses recover 1% of the advertising spend currently going to offshore companies like Google. But at what cost to individual privacy and freedom? As the world becomes increasingly wary of surveillance capitalism, is this really the kind of innovation we want to be promoting?
The City of Cape Town has already banned digital advertising on vehicles, citing concerns about the blight on urban landscapes and the potential for exploitation by criminals. But Polygon and their partners seem to be pushing ahead, despite these concerns.
It’s time to take a closer look at the real impact of this technology and ask the tough questions. Is it really worth sacrificing our privacy and security for the sake of targeted advertising? Or is this just another example of how corporate interests are prioritized over individual freedom?
