Did we pass a privacy milestone without realizing it? Computer science professor Ken Perlin writes on his blog:
Recently I was traveling internationally. I have the Global Traveller option, so I could just to a machine, put in my passport, put my face in front of a camera, and get a piece of paper to hand to the immigration officer. But I was really tired from the flight. So I forgot to put my passport into the slot — I just posed for the camera. And it worked anyway. The paper came out saying that I was me, I handed it to the immigration officer, and I was done. It seems that just my photo was enough to identify me. The passport slot is basically a theater. The government can tell you who you are by analyzing your photo, and they will let you into the country.
Where does this lead? In a follow-up blog post, Perlin offers one example, imagining a professor looking at a new class and already knowing "everyone's name, what their interests were, the date of their birth, and whether they played a musical instrument.
I'd be able to know a lot about them. I don't think this is a good thing. It could be the future we are about to go into. We should be thinking a lot about this. People don't know a lot about us when they look at us. I don't think we should give up our right to privacy.
saccade.com shared the story and thanks for that.
