Iris Scan Technology Sees Me Through My Eyes

They say that truth is stranger than fiction.  If you’ve been to a sci-fi movie in the last few years, you might hope they are wrong.  In the movies there are robots that reprogram themselves AND other robots.  Technology that allows people to scan your iris as easy as flashing a light your direction and then can access you spending (and living) history has been used in more than one plot in some shape or fashion.  The scariest thing for me is that iris scan technology (and all the strings that come with it) is close to being a reality in our regular lives.

Iris scans are becoming a part of the present, not just an idea of the future. Schools are using them to guarantee that the right kids are going with the right people.  There is even talk of iris scans for voting machines.

This may be a very sufficient way of identifying people, but it’s still a bit creepy.  I’m not sure I want some machine scanning my brain (or even just part of it).  For that matter, I don’t want a universal program for keeping up with what I do and how I do it – but I digress.

There has to be an easier and less invasive way to protect our children and to advance technology.  Iris scans need to stay in the movies and not become a part of every day life.

 

I Am Being Watched

Being paranoid is not in my nature, but I know I’m being watched. Every time I go to the grocery store, there are cameras eyeing me from those dome contraptions in the ceiling. Every time I enter a convenience store or mega mart, somebody is filming my every move. Although terrorism can be partially to blame, there has to be more to the story.

Technology may hold some of the blame. The gadgets get smaller and easier to hide - it has to be used. But the retail industry holds some responsibility. Companies have grown tired of watching their profits walk out the door. Their demands for monitoring are part of what is fueling the technological developments.

All the blame can’t go to the retail industry or to the ingenious technicians coming up with all the new gadgets. Society has not only accepted the invasion, but they seem to be embracing it with open arms. Part of it is frustration out of having to pay higher prices to cover the losses being suffered by retailers. Most of it is fear of what has happened in the past and what could potentially happen in the future.

It seems that being watched will not only have to be an accepted part of my life, but that the invasion will continue to expand. You have wonder when the people will rise up and finally say “it is enough.”

Invasion of My Private Eye

There are too many people trying to find out about my spending habits.  Every time I make a purchase, it seems some one wants my area code, or zip code, or birth date.  I don’t want these companies finding out about me.  If I get the chance to check the box that says “if you mark this we will not share your information” then you can rest assured I’m checking that box.

Even with all the information that companies can get today, it doesn’t seem to be enough.  Now they don’t just want to know what I’m doing with my money, they want to know what I’m doing with my eyes.  I’m sure that tracking how many people actually look at an ad is beneficial for the advertisers, but it gives me the creeps to know some tiny computer is scanning my retina.

This is only the beginning.  Eventually they will find a way to mark the retina of the people look, or have a code that says exactly who that person is, like in the sci-fi movie with Tom Cruise.  Then they will be able to track whether or not the looker did more than look.

It is enough already.  Make products worth buying, spend the money on the development, and quit worrying so much about the spiffy ads.  And quit trying to read my mind (or at least my eyes).  If my husband hasn’t figured it out, there is no way a computer will ever be able to do it.

 

 

Britain Spies the Most

If you are in Great Britain and you feel like you are being watched, it’s because you are. There is one CCTV camera for every 14 people. In a perfect but eerie “reality imitating art,” there are over 30 cameras with in shouting distance of George Orwell’s home (the author of 1984 - the “big brother” book).

It seems to me that this could be too much of a good thing. With ever success that the government has (catching criminals, getting leads, and other more preventative actions) it seems that more cameras pop up. What started out as a deterrent to crime is quickly becoming the eye of “big brother” aiming to keep the citizens in line and on track with the government’s ways.

I would hate to be they guy who has the job of monitoring all these cameras. Keeping an eye on 4.2 million CCTV cameras has to be mind boggling (not to mention the amount of space the screens take up).

Maintaining order and peace is important. There just has to be a better way of going about it. Is the public use of money best spent spying on the every day lives of ordinary citizens in the hopes that MAYBE something bad might happen?

Somebody’s Watching Me

There’s nothing worse than having the feeling that someone is watching your every move.  I’m not all that paranoid under most circumstances.  Being a work at home mom means that no one would be interested in how I spend my day.  Right?

The movies, the news, and the internet show pictures of ordinary citizens being watched.  It’s unnerving, uncomfortable, and just not right.  One picture I saw was of some poor soul sunbathing topless on her private balcony.  It gave me shivers because I don’t know a woman out there who hasn’t done something along those lines at some point and time.  It never occurred to me that some crazy person might be watching from the sky.    When I moved out of my parents’ home, I also gave up everyone’s right to spy on me.

These are bad times with bad people trying to kill some of the ordinary citizens.  The government is doing what it thinks it must do in order to make life safe.  The trouble comes when these powers are used for evil and not good.  Even worse, when the powers are hijacked by outsiders who have no morals or scruples or anything concern about anyone other than themselves.

There has to be a way to balance the interest of security with the right to privacy.  I just don’t know if it will ever be attained.