I have this nagging question that I want to put forward to those with like thinking minds:
We all know about word recognition software like Dragon. Many people use it to type their comments on the Free Republic by just talking into a microphone. There is software available to take the spoken word in one language and translate it to English.
So, lets say that all the phone conversations either by cell phone or land line were recorded and put into a voice recognition software and then stored as text. You could put a great deal of conversation on storage if it was in text. And, the storage capability is growing exponentially. Once in text form, you would also have the ability to do text searches using key words and other intelligent word searches using sophisticated software.
I believe it is true that the government does not actively listen to conversations. The huge number of phone conversations daily would make the storage of them impossible. I believe that it first converts conversations to text. Then, it searches conversations using computer technology. This is not active listening because it is in text form and may avoid the legal definition of wire tapping. I am no lawyer to know if it is wire tapping for sure. However, once conversation is identified as having possible illegal activity, the court process is used to bring up all the text material from the source telephone.
Am I correct in this idea?
I think so, but take it one step further. Cross referencing this stored data with the megadata that is said to be captured by PRISM and you are we be able to link the conversation with the #s and locations at the time of the conversation.
All the above takes up just a little space.
With current technology, only digital transcriptions can be searched (to my knowledge). In the near future...who knows?
The issue of all this is, does the President have access to this information in any form?
If Obama has access to personal conversations and information...you can bet he will use it. That's the Chicago way.
Wow. Had not thought of that.