Is the All-Knowing Phone a Good Thing?

Much rabid excitement was generated last week with the announcement of GPS for the 3G iPhone. A host of location-based software is scheduled for mobile phones which should be genuinely useful. However, this technology raises a big question: what does broadcasting your every move mean to our eroding notion of privacy?

New York Magazine reports:

Technology was certainly not supposed to know you were at the laundromat. Or the Yankees game. Or your co-worker’s apartment when you were supposed to be working late. But now when you’re at the laundromat, everyone will know. Because you’ll be letting them know. Maybe not yet; you’re still shy, and think the laundromat is boring. But in a year or two, when everyone is doing it, that shyness will start to seem stupid. It will begin to seem rude not to tell—I mean, what’s wrong with the laundromat? Afraid of someone seeing your socks? Maybe a friend will stop by and lend you a quarter.

New York Magazine: “The Problem With GPS In The 3G iPhone”