Biometric concerns in our backyard...
Monday, September 21, 2009 by CVAJ
TVNZ must be following our schedule... In this article on tonight's news several new levels of biometric technologies are looking likely to be introduced for airport security - and possibly other uses.
Backing up the lecture content, the article explains that "the way you walk, even the way you type are unique characteristics." This is another (potentially concerning?) example of how the human body being increasingly equated to data in the digital age. Of course these cybernetic technologies also exemplify the need to rethink the notion of privacy and how it operates in today's 'surveilance society.'
Personally I have experienced the "SmartGate" technology in Australia which was incredibly smooth (and saved me a tonne of time). One might worry about the increasing amount of machines taking human jobs, however Immigration New Zealand believes that this technology is vital for reducing identity theft.
Despite NZ being typically low down the trickle chain, these developments do need to be kept in check. Hence it is reassuring to see Privacy Commissioner Marie Schroff's voiced concern over this biometric data being shared between organizations. In a world where you cant simply wipe your fingerprints away, we ourselves as well as our activities are becoming increasingly digitized hence more easily traceable, we must remain on our toes in assessing who's watching?
Backing up the lecture content, the article explains that "the way you walk, even the way you type are unique characteristics." This is another (potentially concerning?) example of how the human body being increasingly equated to data in the digital age. Of course these cybernetic technologies also exemplify the need to rethink the notion of privacy and how it operates in today's 'surveilance society.'
Personally I have experienced the "SmartGate" technology in Australia which was incredibly smooth (and saved me a tonne of time). One might worry about the increasing amount of machines taking human jobs, however Immigration New Zealand believes that this technology is vital for reducing identity theft.
Despite NZ being typically low down the trickle chain, these developments do need to be kept in check. Hence it is reassuring to see Privacy Commissioner Marie Schroff's voiced concern over this biometric data being shared between organizations. In a world where you cant simply wipe your fingerprints away, we ourselves as well as our activities are becoming increasingly digitized hence more easily traceable, we must remain on our toes in assessing who's watching?