We knew they'd start chipping people some day...

scaeagles · 07-25-2007, 05:55 AM

There will come a time, in the name of safety for the children - after all, who can be against safety for the children? - that each newborn will be injected with an identity chip so that if they are lost or stolen they can be identified. Anyone who opposes something like that obviously doesn't care about children. A fine application of the technology, right? Why not make it easier for consumers, since we all have the chip from birth anyway, to link it to banking records for easy payment at retail establishments? Or medical records? Maybe every alzeimers patient should have one in case they wander away. Why not expand the range of said device so that it broadcasts the location of felons to law enforcement? That's a fine application of the technology....after all, it would only be used to locate felons. Seems like a great application for establishing citizenship as well.

This is the thing about the frog in the kettle. Each little step seems fine, but when each step is taken together, there is no way the entire journey would be taken all at once.

I suppose that could be called progress....but I don't always see it that way.

Morrigoon · 07-25-2007, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaeagles

There will come a time, in the name of safety for the children - after all, who can be against safety for the children? - that each newborn will be injected with an identity chip so that if they are lost or stolen they can be identified. Anyone who opposes something like that obviously doesn't care about children. A fine application of the technology, right? Why not make it easier for consumers, since we all have the chip from birth anyway, to link it to banking records for easy payment at retail establishments? Or medical records? Maybe every alzeimers patient should have one in case they wander away. Why not expand the range of said device so that it broadcasts the location of felons to law enforcement? That's a fine application of the technology....after all, it would only be used to locate felons. Seems like a great application for establishing citizenship as well.

From the article:

Quote:

Chipping, these critics said, might start with Alzheimer’s patients or Army Rangers, but would eventually be suggested for convicts, then parolees, then sex offenders, then illegal aliens — until one day, a majority of Americans, falling into one category or another, would find themselves electronically tagged.

scaeagles · 07-25-2007, 08:40 PM

Hah! Funny. I didn't even read the article. It is a relatively obviously prediction, though. But interestingly, what good does it do for an Army Ranger if it is not possible to turn up the signal (or whatever one does) so that it is readable from orbit or from a drone aircraft? It would have to be able to be used for tracking.

I believe there is a small difference, though, Alex, between the retinal scanner or finger printing. These do not broadcast a signal and they are not easily tampered with or duplicated.

I'm sorry that I didn't post the meaning of the phrase "frog in the kettle", Kevy. I made an assumption that it was more common than it is.

One thing I'd like to point out is that I never made a value judgement as to whether this is good or bad. But each tiny step in the use of this tech will lead to more and more tiny steps, until it is as accepted as a social security number for identification (which was never, ever supposed to happen, and I believe it is even against the law, though I'm not certain).

07-25-2007, 05:55 AM	#1
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	There will come a time, in the name of safety for the children - after all, who can be against safety for the children? - that each newborn will be injected with an identity chip so that if they are lost or stolen they can be identified. Anyone who opposes something like that obviously doesn't care about children. A fine application of the technology, right? Why not make it easier for consumers, since we all have the chip from birth anyway, to link it to banking records for easy payment at retail establishments? Or medical records? Maybe every alzeimers patient should have one in case they wander away. Why not expand the range of said device so that it broadcasts the location of felons to law enforcement? That's a fine application of the technology....after all, it would only be used to locate felons. Seems like a great application for establishing citizenship as well. This is the thing about the frog in the kettle. Each little step seems fine, but when each step is taken together, there is no way the entire journey would be taken all at once. I suppose that could be called progress....but I don't always see it that way.
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07-25-2007, 08:40 PM	#3
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	Hah! Funny. I didn't even read the article. It is a relatively obviously prediction, though. But interestingly, what good does it do for an Army Ranger if it is not possible to turn up the signal (or whatever one does) so that it is readable from orbit or from a drone aircraft? It would have to be able to be used for tracking. I believe there is a small difference, though, Alex, between the retinal scanner or finger printing. These do not broadcast a signal and they are not easily tampered with or duplicated. I'm sorry that I didn't post the meaning of the phrase "frog in the kettle", Kevy. I made an assumption that it was more common than it is. One thing I'd like to point out is that I never made a value judgement as to whether this is good or bad. But each tiny step in the use of this tech will lead to more and more tiny steps, until it is as accepted as a social security number for identification (which was never, ever supposed to happen, and I believe it is even against the law, though I'm not certain).
	Submit to Quotes