Joe Bloggs

Biometrically opposed

George Orwell's 1984 was as prescient as it was inevitable. Technology is not so much a creeping vine as a dangling noose. Eventually it will snag us all. One piece of technology that should have us all rushing to the decompression chamber is biometrics - specifically 'high-tech security systems that rely on detailed measurements of the human body'. What the security fanatics would have us believe is that by getting a digital imprint of our fingerprint, eye or face we can categorically state that we are who we say we are, and thereby prevent criminals or terrorists finding their way across borders (whether that be a country or a workplace) where they are not welcome. Should the current trend of increasing use of this technology continue you can, of course, kiss privacy goodbye. As this very thorough Economist article states, "... in the long term, biometrics, by their very nature, will compromise privacy in a deep and thorough fashion. If and when face-recognition technology improves to the point where surreptitious cameras can routinely recognise individuals, privacy, as it has existed in the public sphere, will in effect be wiped out".

Thank you for checking-in Winston. Here's your key. You're in Room 101.