Our discussions today (Oct. 5, 2017) covered some
interesting topics concerning privacy. One of the topics that intrigued me the
most was the concern that the new iPhone X’s facial recognition feature would
be abused by third party app developers to trick consumers into unwittingly
giving up data about themselves (like facial features). As stated in the
article cited in class, (“How Apple Will Stop Companies Abusing Facial
Recognition on new iPhone X”), Apple isn’t the first company to take up this
trend, for Samsung and Microsoft have already released products that integrate
facial recognition software. However, since iPhones are enormously popular and
are used for a large assortment of apps, people are beginning to fully consider
the implications of widely used facial recognition (Roberts). Curious to know
if there are any other companies/groups currently invested in the future of
facial recognition technology, I did a Google search. Let’s just say that I
found more than I bargained for.
As it
turns out, India has already implemented a large-scale biometric
system called Aadhaar. According to an article published by the Atlantic, this program was launched in
2009, and has since then collected data on more than one billion people. This
data includes names, phone numbers, addresses, iris scans, and photographs
(Kolachalam). Further into this article, the author describes how the Indian
government has implemented Aadhaar into many social systems, such as banks,
schools, and hospitals. Furthermore, the government utilizes the biometric
database to optimize its welfare programs and services. At first, enrollment
into the system was optional and was mostly intended for the rural citizens of
India, since they were less likely to have official legal documents that could
be used for identification. Now though, the scope of the program has made it so
that enrollment will soon be mandatory if one wants to file taxes, open a bank
account, benefit from health-coverage in Karnataka, and generally participate
in many other government based projects (Kolachalam).
Although
the Indian government promotes Aadhaar as a solution to several of the social
problems the country faces, there are those who see the potential of the system
as a tool to establish a surveillance state (Kolachalam). Given the extent and
depth of the biometrics being collected and stored, it is easy to see why some
are concerned that it would be used to spy on the citizens of India. In fact, I
would be surprised if the Indian government wasn’t utilizing Aadhaar as a
surveillance tool from time to time. The development and implementation of
Aadhaar in India raises some questions, such as: Could a biometric database of
this magnitude ever be built in the United States? Would we, the citizens,
allow this program to get off the ground? On an initial gut feeling, my answer
would be a definite no. The last few days of class have shown that privacy and anonymity
online is a greatly debated topic in our country, so I find it extremely
unlikely that a project like this would garner much public support; rather, I
suspect the opposite would occur. However, upon further thought, I believe that
a few decades in the future we could possibly have a system such as Aadhaar in
place in the United States.
I say
this for two reasons. The first reason is the same reason the Indian government
first developed Aadhaar—efficiency and effectiveness. Its no secret that the
U.S. welfare and healthcare systems are in a state of flux. If a digitalized
system of identification were developed though, it is quite likely that many of
the processes involved in the healthcare and welfare system could be improved.
This in turn would save the government thousands, if not millions, of dollars
that could be allocated to other areas of interest that could greatly use the
additional funding. The second reason is that our society has grown used to
convenience, and, if implemented correctly, a biometric database such as
Aadhaar has the potential to simplify everyday actions just as the iPhone X
will make it easy to unlock your phone just by looking at the camera. Although
there are individuals such as myself who prefer to deal with a bit more hassle
in exchange for privacy, it appears that society is generally leaning in the
opposite direction.
For these
reasons, and probably some others, I believe there is good chance that the
United States could see a major biometric database implemented into its
societal network. At this moment of time, there is too much debate over privacy
on the Internet for the government to rally enough support for this kind of
project. However, as the years pass and technology continues to advance (iPhone
X’s facial recognition), I believe the likelihood that this program will be
implemented in the U.S. greatly increases. What do you think? Will the U.S. develop a biometric database like Aadhaar in the next few decades? Do you see any distant future in which
a program like this isn’t part of society?
Sources:
Kolachalam, Namrata. “The Privacy Battle Over the World’s
Largest Biometric Database.” The Atlantic,
5 Sept. 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/09/aadhaar-worlds-largest-biometric-database/538845/
Accessed 5 Oct 2017.
Roberts, Jeff John. “How Apple Will Stop Companies Abusing
Facial Recognition of New iPhone X.” Fortune,
23 Sept. 2017, http://fortune.com/2017/09/23/face-id-privacy-iphone-x/
Accessed 5 Oct. 2017.
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