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Who Needs the FBI?
Don't worry about FBI or CIA snooping. Let's save 'em the trouble and do it ourselves! As I headed to Russia I read an article in the Sunday Times (London) titled "Electronic detective keeps tabs on roving family." It starts this way: "A wall-mounted screen that allows busy families to keep track of each other's movements is being tested by Microsoft. Researchers call it the 'Whereabouts Clock.' They say it was partly inspired by a magic clock that appears in the Harry Potter novels." Bottom line: A flashing Technicolor screen, linked to mobile phones (inert or active), will feature personalized icons displaying the up-to-the-nanosecond location of one and all.
Hey, why not an implant at birth?
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Comments
The next step will be live video of your every move (or nearly so). London being one of the most covered cities via digital video cameras, they may be first. Given a GPS location (via a mobile phone), the nearest live camera footage can be displayed on a screen at home. A bit frightening but technically possible.
Then think of the government having that capability. Our societies have some policy decisions to make!
Posted by Jeff at October 13, 2005 10:06 AM
Per your last line, Jeff, it is indeed going to be a zoo in privacy-life sciences-intellectual capital world from now until God knows when. No one, citizen or gov't, is even vaguely prepared.
Posted by tom peters at October 13, 2005 10:13 AM
One of the issues that makes this a difficult area is that tracking is sometimes a need. Issues of privacy and tracking in disaster recovery are a particular area where these values intersect. If family A is looking for displaced family member B, does B have the right to not be reported at shelter C?
Can't say there is a resolution for this, but that's the kind of issue we'll be grappling with increasingly as the effect of natural disasters and the numbers of environmentally displaced people continue to rise.
Posted by Greg Burton at October 14, 2005 1:41 PM
link is to sunday times is invalid - fyi
Posted by matthew at October 15, 2005 12:44 PM