ted | The world is becoming increasingly open, and that has implications both
bright and dangerous. Marc Goodman paints a portrait of a grave future,
in which technology's rapid development could allow crime to take a turn
for the worse.
I study the future
of crime and terrorism,
and frankly, I'm afraid.
I'm afraid by what I see.
I sincerely want to believe
that technology can bring us
the techno-utopia that we've been promised,
but, you see,
I've spent a career in law enforcement,
and that's informed my perspective on things.
I've been a street police officer,
an undercover investigator,
a counter-terrorism strategist,
and I've worked in more than 70 countries
around the world.
I've had to see more than my fair share
of violence and the darker underbelly of society,
and that's informed my opinions.
My work with criminals and terrorists
has actually been highly educational.
They have taught me a lot, and I'd like to be able
to share some of these observations with you.
1:07
Today I'm going to show you the flip side
of all those technologies that we marvel at,
the ones that we love.
In the hands of the TED community,
these are awesome tools which will bring about
great change for our world,
but in the hands of suicide bombers,
the future can look quite different.
1:30
I started observing
technology and how criminals were using it
as a young patrol officer.
In those days, this was the height of technology.
Laugh though you will,
all the drug dealers and gang members
with whom I dealt had one of these
long before any police officer I knew did.
1:49
Twenty years later, criminals are still using
mobile phones, but they're also building
their own mobile phone networks,
like this one, which has been deployed
in all 31 states of Mexico by the narcos.
They have a national encrypted
radio communications system.
Think about that.
Think about the innovation that went into that.
Think about the infrastructure to build it.
And then think about this:
Why can't I get a cell phone signal in San Francisco? (Laughter)
How is this possible? (Laughter) It makes no sense. (Applause)
2:29
We consistently underestimate
what criminals and terrorists can do.
Technology has made our world
increasingly open, and for the most part,
that's great, but all of this openness
may have unintended consequences.
