The Communications "Superhighway"

A reoccurring theme we have seen throughout this class is that we are always searching for bigger, better, faster technology. The Communication "Superhighway" is just that, they are being constructed to enable a vast increase in the flow of communications. As stated in the article, "The telephone and cable companies are estimating the change to be from a limit of 60 or so one-way video/audio channels to one of 500 with limited bidirectionality." As we all know, our government controls most of what we see in the media, they are capable to hear our phone conversations, and even track our internet visits. The idea of the "superhighway" is creating the ability to stream videos to anyone anywhere in "real time." The one thing that stuck out to me the most while reading this article is the question of "Who controls the switches." Poster states in the article that the FBI is insisting on building surveillance mechanisms into the structure of the information "superhighway."
When I read this I immediately thought of the movie Minority Report. In Minority Report in order for John Anderton to escape the very own agency he worked for, he had to have his eyes removed and replaced with others to cover his identity. As eyes were constantly scanned throughout the movie, the government was able to keep track of who was where. This idea of surveillance in the communication "superhighway," in my opinion correlates with the surveillance in the movie Minority Report. Only time will tell when our every move will be watched. With the creation of this technology and if the FBI does build surveillance, we are slowly losing our privacy and government is slowly taking complete control.