Friday, August 19, 2005

Are we really free?

I'm reading this book called the Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. It freaks me out to be quite honest with you. It's set about 10 years from now, modern day, and normal citizens (like me and you) are being quietly and covertly manipulated by fear, terror and diversions. Does this sound familiar? I've been reading it for about a week. The book mentions passports with RFID chips. The day after I read that section the USA Today ran an article about the US Government issuing RFID passports. I discuss RFID's and the possible privacy implications of them in a downline blog.

The book then goes on to talk about implanted PLID's in the human body. Well these are also being trialed in kids and adults alike. A PLID is a personal locating ID, implanted under the skin and your exact location can be tracked. Do you really want that? Do you not think that your habits could be catalogued and "subversive" activities stopped? The GPS in your car could be used to automatically ticket you if you were driving in the carpool lane because they know you are single, surveillancelaince camera to determine you are the only occupant and BAM! you have a ticket in the mail. Just something to think about.

What about privacy? Do we need more video surveillance cameras all over the place? Did you know that face scanning and recognition software is available? Yes, as you pass by a video camera your face can be scanned, tied to your passport photo and your whereabouts pinpointed exactly. Kind of freaky, eh?

Some interesting articles to note on the security and privacy of upcoming technologies:

Passports

Implant Trends

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