Information Technology and Paranoia

Here's an example where information technologies and the gathering of data makes me paranoid. (Well, more so than usual.)

BioBouncer is a face recognition system intended for bars:

Its camera snaps customers entering clubs and bars, and facial recognition software compares them with stored images of previously identified troublemakers. The technology alerts club security to image matches, while innocent images are automatically flushed at the end of each night, Dussich said. Various clubs can share databases through a virtual private network, so belligerent drunks might find themselves unwelcome in all their neighborhood bars.

Anyone want to guess how long that "automatically flushed at the end of each night" will last? This data has enormous value. Insurance companies will want to know if someone was in a bar before a car accident. Employers will want to know if their employees were drinking before work -- think airplane pilots. Private investigators will want to know who walked into a bar with whom. The police will want to know all sorts of things. Lots of people will want this data -- and they'll all be willing to pay for it.

Collection of data in this form does seem like a thing that we aren't going to be able to avoid. These various schemes may have a innocent beginning, but will very easily be modified into systems that will only hurt the little guy. I can especially see abuses by large corporations like insurance companies on things like this. Imagine you're the designated driver and don't drink at all, but have a fender-bender. The Insurance company has the information that you went into the bar, so they decide to deny your claim. You then have to either eat the cost or pay for a lawyer to fight for your claim. Either way, you lose.

This type of system may be great for bar owners. When the information gets tacked into databases and other information technology systems, the abuses will begin. You don't like Uncle Sugar tapping your phone calls? Wait till the boss at work can track your movements outside of work.