Minority Report is coming true before our very eyes
I know facial recognition has a long ways to go. But the technology is improving. In Minority Report, the eyes were used as identification. Facial recognition is a stepping-stone to that. And you'd better believe that advertisers will use any means available to deliver you more "relevant" ads.
We really are halfway there with every single internet advertisement tracking what you do. Pre-Facebook and other social networking sites, a simple cookie clear forced them to start over. Now, you signed up for Facebook and so the tracking is tied to your contact information, not a cookie. The social networking part is just a blind so you will hand over all your information. Then you upload lots of photos of yourself on Facebook or Instagram. You sign up for a Microsoft account because Microsoft makes you think you have to have one to log in to Windows. That requires some personal information. Then people use their webcam to take a picture of themselves as their account picture. Now Microsoft has your picture and some personal information. Over time, telemetry finds out what programs you use, Cortana knows what you are searching for, and so on. All tied, not to a cookie, but to your personal information. The same people who take to the street to protest warrantless wiretaps will gladly hand over the exact same information, and then some, to Facebook.
Let us think about it: You also give a lot of personal information to Facebook, including your name, your pet's name, what you like, what you do, what you are doing, and much more. Facial recognition technology is improving. Now that photo of yourself can be used to discover who you are as you go about your daily activities. Imagine walking into the grocery store and there a billboard appears saying "John Smith, your wife's birthday is coming up. Why not buy her some Cadbury Chocolates, isle 8?" Or you walk into a pet store: "John Smith, you bulldog Butch could use a nice bath. Try our in-store grooming department." You walk into an electronics store: "John Smith, since you like playing the Halo series, why not try the new Halo: Master Chief edition for your XBox." And I could go on.
Profit is a huge motivation for quickly improving technology. If advertisers can figure out how to have even more targeted ads using facial recognition, you better believe the technology will advance rapidly.
Instead of a metro card, a camera scans your face and connects that your account. (In Minority Report, the eyes were used.) Of course, the government will insist that every camera keep a recording "for your safety" (of course). That means the government will be able to track you. 'John Smith used this metro station at 8:34 p.m., northbound train.' To save money, such devices will be on the internet on not on a separate non-public network. So now that means there will be pay-to-track hackers who crack the system so that you can be stalked. (Everything on the internet can be hacked, even the most secure system. If I ever get a 'connected' car, the first thing I will do is remove any feature that connects to the internet.) And I could go on here too.
One thing about humans is they take good things and make them bad things. Do not get me wrong, some things about facial recognition is a good thing. Where it is wrong is when the system is used to track you for profit or for the government. There cannot be any tracking of any kind in any way for any reason without a court ordered warrant. This is why I use an ad blocker AND NoScript.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
