The Pokemon Go Spying Conspiracy Theory? Yeah. It's Verified.

Summary

In this video script, the speaker reveals how Niantic Labs, the creator of Pokémon GO, is using the game to collect vast amounts of data through users' phones, contributing to a CIA-backed 3D geospatial AI system. The speaker connects this project to a broader surveillance initiative, mentioning how the CIA's investment arm, In-Q-Tel, backed Niantic and how the game gathers detailed location, movement, and visual data. Despite initial skepticism, the speaker asserts that the data collected is now being openly used for creating advanced spatial intelligence systems, raising serious privacy concerns.

Takeaways

• 😀 Niantic's Pokémon Go uses players' smartphones to gather detailed data, including location, photos, and movements.
• 😀 The CIA’s venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, invested in Niantic, seeing its potential for intelligence and surveillance purposes.
• 😀 Pokémon Go has been collecting millions of images and geospatial data to create a 3D AI map of the world.
• 😀 Niantic’s Visual Positioning System (VPS) uses user-provided scans to build highly accurate models of physical spaces, including private locations.
• 😀 The data collected by Niantic allows for centimeter-level positioning and precise knowledge of users' movements and surroundings.
• 😀 Niantic admits that users' locations and actions—whether in public or private spaces—are constantly being scanned and added to a massive database.
• 😀 The CIA’s involvement with Niantic has been directly linked to surveillance, as the agency awarded Gilman Louie, the man behind the investment, multiple honors for his role.
• 😀 Niantic’s use of neural networks and machine learning techniques enables it to create advanced, efficient representations of physical spaces from user data.
• 😀 The data from Pokémon Go not only maps pedestrian spaces but also provides insights into user behavior and potentially sensitive information, such as inside private homes.
• 😀 Despite initial skepticism and ridicule from the public, the author feels vindicated as Niantic openly admits its surveillance operations and their ties to the CIA.

Q & A

What is the connection between Pokémon Go and the CIA?

The speaker argues that Pokémon Go was created with the help of a CIA-backed venture firm, In-Q-Tel, which invested in Niantic Labs. The game is said to collect vast amounts of personal data that could be used for geospatial intelligence and surveillance, making it part of a broader CIA agenda.

What type of data does Pokémon Go collect from its users?

Pokémon Go collects data such as location, route tracking, speed, time of day, camera images, and even what players are looking at. This data helps Niantic build detailed 3D maps of the physical world.

What is Niantic’s 'Visual Positioning System' (VPS), and how does it work?

VPS is a system that uses images taken by users to determine their position and orientation in the real world with centimeter-level accuracy. It builds 3D maps from photos taken by players, capturing pedestrian perspectives and providing precise location data.

How does Niantic use AI in its geospatial mapping efforts?

Niantic uses machine learning to create a 'large geospatial model' (LGM), a 3D map of the world. This AI model is built by processing millions of neural network parameters, which enables it to understand and interact with physical spaces, including for applications like augmented reality and robotics.

What are the privacy concerns associated with Niantic’s data collection?

The main privacy concern is that Niantic collects detailed data on users’ movements, locations, and even what they are looking at through their phones' cameras. This could potentially be used for surveillance purposes, including tracking people inside private locations like homes, businesses, and other areas inaccessible to cars.

How does Niantic justify its data collection practices?

Niantic claims that the data collection is necessary to create accurate 3D maps for augmented reality applications and future technologies, such as wearable devices and autonomous systems. However, the speaker in the transcript argues that this is a cover for more invasive surveillance practices.

What role does In-Q-Tel play in Niantic’s development?

In-Q-Tel, a venture capital firm backed by the CIA, invested in the company that eventually became Niantic. This investment is seen as part of the CIA’s interest in using Niantic’s technology for geospatial intelligence and surveillance purposes.

What is the significance of the 2017 WikiLeaks 'Vault 7' release in relation to Pokémon Go?

The Vault 7 release revealed that about 30% of the CIA’s hacking and surveillance projects were code-named after Pokémon. The speaker highlights this as evidence of the CIA’s interest in Pokémon Go and suggests a direct connection between the CIA and the game's surveillance capabilities.

What makes the geospatial data collected by Niantic unique compared to other data collection methods?

The data is unique because it is gathered from a pedestrian perspective, using users’ phones to scan locations as they move through the world. This gives Niantic access to places that are typically inaccessible to other types of mapping methods, such as car-based mapping systems.

What is the speaker’s overall stance on the development of Pokémon Go and Niantic’s technology?

The speaker is critical of Niantic’s technology, viewing it as a form of surveillance. They believe that the game's data collection practices are a cover for more nefarious purposes, such as providing detailed maps of private spaces for government and intelligence agencies like the CIA.