(no subject)
Nov. 17th, 2004 02:20 pmThe following article was culled from the New York Times website. It is one of the most emailed articles of the day. I am not surprised that this is happening, I've been expecting it since the UPC code came out. We can all see what's next - we'll all be tagged, just like the Orwellian-type science fiction books have been predicting. Sheep, cattle, whatever animal metaphor you want to use, we will be tagged, tracked, found when we want to hide, we will BE the livestock. This especially rings true for an economist who views the human race as a resource of production... and anyone who believes what that economist says.
I know that there are GOOD uses that this technology could be used for, such as the purported use it is getting in this article - child safety. The downside is that technology created for the greater good can always (and usually is) be perverted for "eeeevil." We must view both ends of the spectrum. The solution is to be able to successfully create law that develops at the same pace as the technology. Unfortunately, law has always lagged behind invention; look at how things have been with computers, the internet, and all the things made possible by their creation - and the utter void that exists concerning laws governing their uses. (not that I'm advocating much beyond protecting users from being abused.)
The worst aspect in these situations is that we tend to have something particularly NASTY happen before people wake up and raise their voices for change. Ah well... only time will tell on this one. Some might think I'm starting to sound paranoid. I don't think I've gone quite that far... I'm a realist, not an optimist! ::spoken in the manner of Bones from ST:: Fear is leading us down a dangerous path.
Be vigilant!
In Texas, 28,000 Students Test an Electronic Eye
By MATT RICHTEL

Sandra Martinez, 10, uses her ID card to indicate that she is getting off her school bus in Spring, Tex.
( Read more... )
I know that there are GOOD uses that this technology could be used for, such as the purported use it is getting in this article - child safety. The downside is that technology created for the greater good can always (and usually is) be perverted for "eeeevil." We must view both ends of the spectrum. The solution is to be able to successfully create law that develops at the same pace as the technology. Unfortunately, law has always lagged behind invention; look at how things have been with computers, the internet, and all the things made possible by their creation - and the utter void that exists concerning laws governing their uses. (not that I'm advocating much beyond protecting users from being abused.)
The worst aspect in these situations is that we tend to have something particularly NASTY happen before people wake up and raise their voices for change. Ah well... only time will tell on this one. Some might think I'm starting to sound paranoid. I don't think I've gone quite that far... I'm a realist, not an optimist! ::spoken in the manner of Bones from ST:: Fear is leading us down a dangerous path.
Be vigilant!
In Texas, 28,000 Students Test an Electronic Eye
By MATT RICHTEL

Sandra Martinez, 10, uses her ID card to indicate that she is getting off her school bus in Spring, Tex.
( Read more... )