A contribution by CS
What is the great injustice about asking for a lousy fingerprint? Or two, even. Or hell, why don't they just go the whole way and take all ten? That's what the Americans are doing, and they've got the whole security thing down pat. Who cares anyway? They're just smudges of sweat on a silicon sensor. Good for security, good for peace and order, good for control. It's a win-win for all. Only the terrorists lose, and who cares about them anyway.
Right?
I mean, look, it doesn't even really matter whether we want this or not. Biometrics are here to stay. Just have a look at what Nature, the world's leading scientific publication, has to say about the future of this technological marvel. Nature, aren't biometrics the coolest thing?
"Yes, because unlike conventional recognition techniques such as passwords or ID cards, which are based on 'what you know' or 'what you have', biometric recognition is based on 'who you are': anatomical features such as face, fingerprint or iris, or behavioural traits such as signature or gait. This makes biometric technologies much more difficult to abuse than traditional methods of identification. Unlike passwords or ID cards, it is extremely difficult to guess, share, misplace, copy or forge biometric identifiers."
In other words, we have gone beyond second-order identification. No more confusing ID numbers, no more quirky passwords, no more cards, no more hassle. We have truly entered an age of convenience. First-order identification means streamlined efficiency and control. No more messy intermediaries. No pseudonyms. No fake ID. No alternate identities. Our blog posts may have many tags, but we only have one, and it never changes. Our anatomical features and behavioural traits are our tag. We carry them around whether we want them or not.
And so do the terrorists.
Genius.
And you know what else is so great about this? It cost the government next to nothing. Next to nothing. Which means, thanks to the frugal spending habits and fiscal transparency of this country's fine governing system, that it cost the taxpayer -- that's you and me! -- next to nothing as well. Those Americans with their ingenious ways somehow came up with a way to extract fingerprints and photographs of an estimated 7.5 million foreigners, not to mention devise an automatic-gate system to herd us all through the process in a jiffy, for less than the cost of a personal computer. Can you believe that?
Wow. I've never felt so safe.
Can't wait to try this.
What is the great injustice about asking for a lousy fingerprint? Or two, even. Or hell, why don't they just go the whole way and take all ten? That's what the Americans are doing, and they've got the whole security thing down pat. Who cares anyway? They're just smudges of sweat on a silicon sensor. Good for security, good for peace and order, good for control. It's a win-win for all. Only the terrorists lose, and who cares about them anyway.
Right?
I mean, look, it doesn't even really matter whether we want this or not. Biometrics are here to stay. Just have a look at what Nature, the world's leading scientific publication, has to say about the future of this technological marvel. Nature, aren't biometrics the coolest thing?
"Yes, because unlike conventional recognition techniques such as passwords or ID cards, which are based on 'what you know' or 'what you have', biometric recognition is based on 'who you are': anatomical features such as face, fingerprint or iris, or behavioural traits such as signature or gait. This makes biometric technologies much more difficult to abuse than traditional methods of identification. Unlike passwords or ID cards, it is extremely difficult to guess, share, misplace, copy or forge biometric identifiers."
In other words, we have gone beyond second-order identification. No more confusing ID numbers, no more quirky passwords, no more cards, no more hassle. We have truly entered an age of convenience. First-order identification means streamlined efficiency and control. No more messy intermediaries. No pseudonyms. No fake ID. No alternate identities. Our blog posts may have many tags, but we only have one, and it never changes. Our anatomical features and behavioural traits are our tag. We carry them around whether we want them or not.
And so do the terrorists.
Genius.
And you know what else is so great about this? It cost the government next to nothing. Next to nothing. Which means, thanks to the frugal spending habits and fiscal transparency of this country's fine governing system, that it cost the taxpayer -- that's you and me! -- next to nothing as well. Those Americans with their ingenious ways somehow came up with a way to extract fingerprints and photographs of an estimated 7.5 million foreigners, not to mention devise an automatic-gate system to herd us all through the process in a jiffy, for less than the cost of a personal computer. Can you believe that?
Wow. I've never felt so safe.
Can't wait to try this.
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