this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2023
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Yet more evidence that we shouldn't be handing over sensitive data to random companies. Will this change anyone's behaviour? Sadly, probably not.
I struggle to see what someone could do with that information. My ethnicity is already known by the government and every advertiser collecting my information online. I randomly had my identity connected to my cousin's before any family took DNA tests. Her name would show up in those questionnaires along with what car I've owned and where I've lived when I had to go through online government stuff.
I'm relatively paranoid about giving out personal information, but I don't consider my spit very sensitive.
You get a phone call from someone claiming to be from 23andme but they're not...
Hi it's Jim from 23andme.
Just going through security with you. You did a test with us on the 5th Dec, your mother is X and your father is Y.
Ok that confirms who I am.
So as I said it's Jim and in your results we see you have a genetic condition which means you will have early onset dementia.
We offer a preventative treatment. Want to enrol in the trial? It's $200.
Not the best example I admit but an example of how that data could be misused and you've just paid "Jim" $200
There is a lot of job discrimination in hiring of autistic people, especially when it's hard to fire them.
Many places actively profile for it and consider symptoms to be red flags since they can't explicitly ask. This is why making it hard to fire people hurts the disadvantaged.
What I would do is search for data where the kid is not biological child of both parents. For all the cases I found I would send automated email to both parents saying that if they don't pay me I will reveal this info to their child, post it on their facebook and email all their friends. How many couples do you think found out that there was a mixup in the in vitro clinic or simply that there was some cheating and didn't reveal it to everyone My guess is more than 0.
Or I would email everyone on the list saying that I analysed their data and found that there's 100% probability they are gay/trans/have a small dick. Out of the 7 million, how many would believe it and pay not to have this revealed?
With 7 million users it's more about running scams than getting 'dirt' on the individuals.
It sucks as a whole. Imagine having everyone's DNA. You can develop things that hurt a specific set of people only. It may or may not affect you directly, but it affects our communities. You're right as an individual. No one really cares about your hair or spit and if they did, it's very easy to get a hair sample in most cases without you even knowing it. As technology gets better there will be (maybe already are ways) to get your DNA that are less intrusive or need less material. AI trained on DNA and physical attribute could probably narrow it down A LOT using video alone.
They don't have anything DNA. They have generic relationships and percentages
I can't see any good use