While these make things like scanning products for inventory much easier (you don't have to be right next to every item to catalog it), it brings up issues of privacy. Critics call them "spychips" because the RFID remains active even after you buy the object and take it home. Since people don't necessarily know when one of these chips is in their purchases, they can be tracked without their knowledge. As of now, the readers for these chips can at best (for active chips and long range readers) is 100 yards, but as technology improves, who knows how accurate or what kind of range these readers could reach. It is one issue to think that people can track where you go based on the pair of jeans you're wearing, but it is another entirely to think that electronic passports could be read at a distance to attack highly concentrated areas.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
RFIDs
In the reading for class on Monday, a device called RFID or radio frequency identification was mentioned. It works like a bar code but is able to store more information. Originally they were used for tagging cattle and tracking railroad cars, but as the technology has gotten less expensive, more uses have become available. They have the potential to replace bar codes entirely, as well as being used in electronic passports or tracking of people and animals. A chip embedded in a pet can help people reclaim a lost animal, or one implanted in a person can contain your entire medical history, which helps doctors to identify any allergies or pre-existing conditions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Even scarier, perhaps: what are the consequences of having these kinds of tags embedded in people, as has been suggested. It makes paying for things easier (just walk out with it and get charged automatically), but could theoretically lead to easy tracking of all citizens locations.
ReplyDeleteOf course, new cell phones are required to be capable of reporting their locations to within 200 yards. Maybe we don't mind being tracked so much.
In my opinion, I don't see much practical use for RFID in an every day setting. Perhaps it makes buying things easier by getting charged automatically but wouldn't that cause more problems for determining who is stealing from a store and who is legitimately making a purchase? Also, I'm not aware of any problems with the current bar code system but it seems to be a reliable way to purchase items. Why would we want to replace the simplicity of bar codes with another technology?
ReplyDeleteI think that the only reasonable use for the RFIDs is for passports, which would identify information and include a digital photograph, making the customs process more efficient and accurate. The book mentions that such fears about terrorists and RFIDS are exaggerated; I would agree considering that radio frequencies can often superimpose on each other and thus it may be difficult to detect individual RFIDs in a crowded area from a distant location.
Once (probably in the very near future) the readers have longer ranges, there will be a lot of privacy issues that arise. On the positive side, we could insert these chips into criminals or people on parole so that their movements could be tracked. This could insure that many people stay safe since law enforcement could be notified if a criminal was somewhere where he/she should not be. On the negative side, I could see this getting to the point where parents insert chips into their children so they can track where they go. While this may provide some sort of protection, I think this would be terrible for the personal development of children since they would not be allowed to try certain things on their own.
ReplyDeleteI think a disclaimer should be placed on any technology that has the ability to be tracked. By providing a disclaimer, there would be no privacy issue as individuals are aware privacy may be compromised with this gadget. This way individuals know of the risk and choose to use the device despite its tracking abilities (assuming tracking is a negative feature).
ReplyDeleteI may be way off here, but I think RFID technology is freakin' cool. Lets say its built in to the "One Card" of your life, programmed specifically for you. Instead of unlocking your door with a key, you just walk near it with the card in your pocket. At work, you clock in when you enter the door. Don't wait in line at the grocery store, each item is charged to your account as you toss it in the cart, then your receipt prints for you as you exit. Thinking of going out on Franklin? Open the web app that shows which friends are at which bars. Yes there are serious privacy concerns, but think of how sweet it would be!
ReplyDeleteI agree with NJ Placentra that RFID's are pretty cool. I think they're potentially scary, for sure, but it seems incredibly useful for medical history and even military cadaver identification, which has presented a lot of tragic problems in the past and even now with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm not keen on the idea of the government knowing where I am all the time, but I don't think that's necessarily what the technology would be used for. I know my dog has a chip implanted, but you can't track him on GPS. It's only used if he gets found and turned in to a pound, they can check to find his owners. I don't like the idea of getting automatically charged for items as I put them in my cart or leave the store, it just seems like there would be a lot of room for error when you put items back or accidentally walk through a doorway more than once. I think when it comes to anything with our bank accounts, this technology needs a lot of work before it's practical. I also think disclosure should be mandatory. But I do think that for storing medical information and identification, however, that it's really cool technology that should by no means be mandatory, but should certainly be taken advantage of for its benefits.
ReplyDeleteI think RFID's pose many opportunities for the future but it seems oddly reminiscent of the book "Nineteen Eighty-Four." It would give marketers, insurance companies, medical personnel, the government etc intimate access into our personal lives. If the technology becomes widespread, I think users should have the ability to turn on and off the tracking device (if its possible- I'm not real sure about the science.) That way, users have some control over what activities become public and which ones do not.
ReplyDeleteI'm in agreement with Aivi on this one. There are definitely some practical uses for RFIDs, but it seems like many of them are simply conveniences. Admittedly, NJ's vision of RFIDs is pretty cool. But I feel like the potential abuses of RFIDs far outweigh the advantages. If they allowed you to find out where all your friends are, how much easier does that make to stalk someone. Sure, GoogleEarth can tell you where they live, but RFID's could potentially allow you to track them and know where they are at any time. Convenient or not, that's rather frightening to me.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of something I just heard about at a conference last weekend - geotracking and Bluetooth technology.
ReplyDeleteUsing the Bluetooth technology that's out right now - meaning this is possible in the very near future - companies could use your geographical information to send you targeted marketing information.
For example, say you are walking past Madison Square Garden at 8pm and there are tickets available for the game at 9pm. The company would see that you're in the area at the right time and send you a message via Bluetooth saying "Tickets available for tonight's game! Stop by the ticket office!"
Cool...but scary. RFIDs and similar technologies make scenes from movies like Minority Report seem pretty feasible.
I agree with Jon that this concept is frighteningly reminiscent of "1984." Similar to the Bluetooth technology, Starbucks recently teamed up with a marketing company to try out tracking technology. Like the Madison Square Garden idea, the technology would track the general region you are in and send you coupons, specials about the nearest store. The phone number of the store would also be available so you could pre-order your purchase. While such technology may be convenient and beneficial, is it really worth the subsequent risks? Foreign governments, which already have strongholds over their citizens, would be able to monitor their every move. The information overload experienced by US citizens would grow exponentially. Like some of the above posts suggest, an individuals purchasing patterns and information are personal and they should have the ability to control distribution of such information.
ReplyDeleteAs technologically advanced as RFIDs sound, I really don't see any practical use of it. I don't think it would be a popular technology because it really have highly beneficial qualities that will make someone get them. The risks of being monitored by hacking definitely outweigh the benefits.
ReplyDeletePassports are the only thing could benefit from this technology. Airports are so incredibly inefficient, therefore using RFIDs might make certain things better such as customs. I just don't see this being so profound that RFIDs will become the new 'bar code system' or whatever else it might replace.
This is kind of scary. The last point brought up about the RFIDs on passports enabling one to track a certain person or see highly concentrated areas, is something serious to think about, especially in these days of terrorism and war. I don't really see the practical use of it either, other than disadvantages. In that case I agree with npatel. I think regular barcodes are efficient enough. If people want to put them in animals to track or keep up with pets, that is understandable. However, the thought of using them on people just makes me think of the Bourne Identity.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think that using RFID's would be useful in any practical way for normal people. I beleive that we won't see that in the near future, because too much information can be leaked out to anyone. To see how much information can be leaked out over the internet, this would just really be too much. Kind of like when we saw the pizza delivery or sub person over the phone, knowing where they lived, if they were healthy or not, using RFID's would just be an invasion of privacy for everyone.
ReplyDelete