Conversnitch: NSA Material or Not?

I'm sure many have heard of the infamous NSA and their spying techniques on the American and foreign internet populous, but recently Kyle McDonald and Brian House have developed a benign lamp that actively "listens" to conversations that people have in public places. The Project "Conversnitch" is a small bulb that contains a small Raspberry Pi computer, a microphone, and an L.E.D. light encased in a plastic flower pot that can be screwed into any light fixture; it records conversations and posts them to it's Twitter page via a WiFi connection, demonstrating that one's everyday conversations can be recorded.

As far as art is concerned, this piece fits into the cybernetic category. Since it uses a computer to transcribe conversations to text, it satisfies the cybernetic aesthetic of the artwork, while the use of common objects in a public place makes it a digital installation. It also needs someone to actually have a conversation near it to cause the device to record.

The device itself is pretty intricate especially its versatility to be installed virtually anywhere, including a lamp post (as one video demonstrated). This project reminded me of my previous blog where I talked about "The Bay Lights" project in San Francisco, CA. Although the "Conversnitch" doesn't have blinking lights or makes any noise, it does stand out in the "tweets" that it transcribes virtually giving a stranger a peek into the lives and situations of other people. Many might say that the NSA is going to take advantage of this device and use it for their own personal gain, but in my honest opinion I highly doubt it since the device itself can only record a certain amount of conversations at a time. Also, the Conversnitch is large and bulky and can be easily seen if installed on certain types of lighting fixtures and I doubt the NSA would want something like that to be used. Maybe if this project is funded a little more, it's design could be improved and used in more positive ways than the government thinks of using it. One example could be in restaurants to see if a new menu item is liked or disliked by customers...at least from a technological perspective. All in all, this questions ends with those that are behind this project, are you one of them?