Opinion Software

Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of U.S.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/us/04monitor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Eric Lipton

October 3, 2006

            A new technology is being developed that would be capable of automatically monitoring world opinion of the US.  This software would read newspaper articles and discern the opinion of the author towards the US.  Not only would the government be able to keep tabs on how nations felt about us, they would also be able to monitor the writings of individual reporters and news outlets.  Critics of the new technology say that it would allow the US to have an Orwellian level of knowledge of the thoughts and opinions of people around the world.  Proponents counter that the technology would not have any information not published in widely read newspapers, and that it could be an invaluable asset in determining threats to the country.

            Once the government has access to this technology the issue will inevitably arise of whether they should be permitted to monitor American news sources with this technology in the same way that they would monitor the foreign press.  The social implications of the government having detailed files on the opinions of every published journalist and newspaper are enormous, especially because this data would be gathered in the attempt to identify threats to the nation.  Once the government is searching for 'threats' throughout the world's media, how long will the media be able to maintain its independence and objectivity?