

Ask HN: If you could record your entire life from now going forward, would you? - bwood

If you had an easy way to make and store, say, a continuous audio recording at minimal cost, would you use it?  Would it make a difference if you retained complete control over the recording?  How would you react towards friends&#x2F;family who use it?<p>I believe this is a very relevant question, because:<p>a) most people carry around a portable microphone with an internet connection in their pocket<p>b) storage costs are now at a point where it would be feasible to do this on a large scale
======
beat
Ugh, no.

In part, how do you sort out the relevant bits? If it takes a lifetime to
record, wouldn't it take a lifetime to watch?

My wife has kept a journal most of her life. I suspect it would be fascinating
for me if I ever read it (which I will, if I outlive her). I'm sure it'll be
fascinating for our children. But really, I don't want to look right now, even
though I could.

So if I recorded my entire life, who'd want to watch?

~~~
bwood
I've been considering building this as a personal project, because I never got
to know my grandparents very well and sometimes I have conversations or
experience things that I wish I could relive. I highly doubt anyone would ever
bother with most of the recording. Sorting out the relevant bits is an open
question, but I suspect a combination of speech-to-text with search and a
timeline could help find interesting things.

------
donohoe
No.

I prefer to not dwell on the past. I'm not sure I'd learn much from it either
(via this means).

However - I would pay for a seamless device that would passively record the
last 24 or 48 hours, deleting old footage as it adds more. To me, that is much
more valuable.

------
EllaMentry
There is a relevant Black Mirror episode where the premise is a society where
the majority of people have implants that record everything around them (and
can then project and playback these moments) - like all Black Mirror episodes
it has some interesting insights into how this affects society and people.

I definitely think we should hold some people to these standards (law
enforcement, security guards, judges, politicians to name a few) - but for
society as a whole? No thanks.

------
petervandijck
It would have to be free (storage cost will continue to drop quickly to a
level where they're irrelevant) and the killer app would be a way to sort
through it.

I'm sure if you build it some people will flock to it.

------
OafTobark
No. Would just pile up a bunch of garbage I would never go back and listen to
and end up wasting money pointlessly.

I am sure for some out there, this might be something they want but personally
I don't care

------
Mankhool
No. There will be enough recording of me in public places and with Google
Glass that I would not want anymore - even if it was self-inflicted.

------
zw123456
Why bother when the NSA is doing it for you.

~~~
bwood
I suppose one could argue that it could just as easily be used to prove
innocence as guilt. Pretty much the ultimate alibi, assuming you didn't
actually do it.

