Are you a replicant...er, a terrorist?

Security firms working on devices to spot would-be terrorists in crowd

Under Project Hostile Intent, scientists will aim to build devices that can pick up tell-tale signs of hostile intent or deception from people's heart rates, perspiration and tiny shifts in facial expressions.

This is uber-cool.

It's also horrifying, but you have to remember I'm a geek, I grew up reading science fiction, and I already know how most of these things turn out no matter which Schrodinger's branch we take: cat alive, or cat dead. Those of us who've read these books live in an ongoing world of simultaneous boredom (yeah, we knew they'd be able to do that), excitement (they can do that already?), and fear (oh, shit, they can do that ALREADY?).

So, yes, I've read books about, and seen (in movies like Minority Report, the film this article references), the different paths of consequence that will stem from the use of this technology. But Minority Report was more about ESP. The film this technology brings most easily to my mind is Bladerunner. A test to tell whether you're a replicant. How about if you're a terrorist? A test to tell whether you harbor seditious thoughts. Whether you disagree with your government, your employer, the law, or the church you've been assigned to. You know...to decide whether you're fit to live.

Dramatic...but then it should be; we're talking about movies. We are...right?

What I am certain they won't be able to do for a long time is to do it accurately, which could mean either that we won't have to worry about it for some time (the less likely scenario), or that they will rush it out there and start merrily misusing it (the more likely scenario).

For my part, I smile and wave hi at security cameras. I'm waiting for the study to come out that explains that terrorists do this, so they can take me down.

Ground Zero articles of interest:

Unclean, unclean....

Microchips mulled for HIV carriers in Indonesia's Papua

"Among one of the means being considered is the monitoring of those infected people who can pose a danger to others," Manangsang said.

"The use of chip implants is one of the ways to do so, but only for those few who turn aggressive and clearly continue to disregard what they know about the disease and spread the virus to others."

I've already seen where this would lead. Norman Spinrad wrote a novella in the eighties called "Journals of the Plague Years". The spread of the plague (AIDS and mutations thereof, though it is not called by name in the story) is so prevalent that, included in the information on the national ID, there is a field with information about the person's infection status. Uninfected people's cards, when scanned, returned a blue indicator; the infected, or anyone who had missed their last scheduled medical test, came up black. Most black-carders were rounded up and shipped off to the quarantine city, San Francisco, which was surrounded by walls and guards in boats and all.

When people would meet and consider dating, there were readers in public places for the purpose of confirming one's status to the other. (I think there may have been home blood test kits, too; it's been twenty years, and the book is out of print now.)

And when a person's card registered black, they would often dive into the underground immediately, as it meant the authorities would be looking for them.

I won't go into the plot details. But that's where this is heading. Black cards, not just for diseases, but for any undesirable behavior.

Consider the usefulness of underground networks in such a case, or that of card counterfeiters and identity brokers. Should a similar future come to pass, They^TM will want to use chips because they're harder to counterfeit, but I have faith in human inventiveness.

Ground Zero articles of interest:

Homeland Security will decide whether we can work

No jobs for US citizens without Homeland Security approval

"Under this already flawed program no one would be able to work in the U.S. without DHS approval - creating a ‘No Work List’ similar to the government’s ‘No Fly List.’"

Whoever's surprised, raise your hand. Next come No Rent Lists, No Primary Education Lists, No Buying Food Lists...You think I'm joking, don't you.


Work bill would create new ID database

There is no privacy requirement that the federal government delete the information after work authorization is given or denied. Employers would be required to keep all the documentation in paper or electronic form for seven years "and make it available for inspection by officers of the Department of Homeland Security" and the Department of Labor. It would also open up the IRS' databases of confidential taxpayer information to Homeland Security and its contractors.

After the chaos that will ensue due to incompatibility of database software, the next step will be to create one database. The more centralized the information is, the easier it is to manipulate it, since you only have to crack one database, bribe one employee, or forge one card instead of several.

The ACLU's Sparapani argued that the bill's penalties for noncompliance aren't tough enough to discourage unscrupulous employers from continuing to pay undocumented workers under the table. Under the new rules, "the black market economy is likely to grow rather than shrink," he said.

No shit, Sherlock. If it's too much trouble to hire people legally, why would people even bother to hire citizens and legal immigrants? It's now going to be MORE likely that illegal immigrants will find work and stay here, not less.

Ground Zero articles of interest: