Hope you enjoyed your privacy (tip to Instapundit):
Researchers at MIT, Microsoft, and Adobe have developed an algorithm that can reconstruct an audio signal by analyzing minute vibrations of objects depicted in video. In one set of experiments, they were able to recover intelligible speech from the vibrations of a potato-chip bag photographed from 15 feet away through soundproof glass.
In other experiments, they extracted useful audio signals from videos of aluminum foil, the surface of a glass of water, and even the leaves of a potted plant.
I recommend The Light of Other Days for a look at how people react to the loss of privacy. I know I've linked this book before. I haven't read it in years, but the way people reacted to the loss of privacy has lessons.
Some ignored it. Some had mixed reactions. Some flaunted their private lives so there would be no discovery. Some dropped out of society, using technology to cloak themselves in high-tech hoodies.
It was a science fiction book when published in 2000.
