Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Biometrics critique or parody of a biometrics critique?

Osama bin Laden’s Identity Confirmed With Biometrics Technology. You’re Next — and You Should Care (Forbes)
But don’t forget this. Iris-recognition technology already has evolved to the point where authorities can very quickly scan members of a crowd from a distance of 10 feet, a figure expected to increase dramatically. That means that they can scan your eyes without your consent. Forget about Apple tracking your iPhone or the government infringing your Fourth Amendment rights with GPS technology. Iris tracking allows authorities to track you with extraordinary precision. Tom Cruise taught us that. And if you’re willing to be tracked without consent and place your faith in your iris’ uniqueness to vouch for your identity, remember that technology is always fallible. It will fail, and citizens will be misidentified, in some cases with grave consequences when not also confirmed by DNA matching.
I'd have to say that it's more likely a parody of an anti-biometrics article than a real anti-biometrics article because the arguments are transparent howlers.

Exhibit A: "Tom Cruise taught us that."
Exhibit B: "if you’re willing to be tracked without consent..." this is very close to an oxymoron.

No serious person would write those two things especially in consecutive sentences. Either this is class A parody or I weep for Yale, Steve Forbes and horses everywhere.