MIT Media Lab project on "Things that Fink?" [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[April fool's warning, of course... --Declan]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Things that Fink: For Politech (anonymous posting, please)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 14:24:01 -0500
From: deleted
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>

Declan,

I found this announcement on an internal Media Lab mailing list.  I
thought it might be of interest to your readers.  Please remove my
name and email address if you choose to post it.

        Cheers,
        deleted

====

Embargo: April 1, 2004.

Today the MIT Media Lab announced the "Things that Fink" research
consortium, a ground-breaking joint academic/industry/government
venture to explore the benefits of ubiquitous surveillance in the
public and private sectors.

The "Things that Fink" consortium is an extension of the Media Lab's
successful "Things that Think" (TTT) research consortium, with an
emphasis on RFID, data mining, sensor networks, biometrics, and
behavior modeling technologies.  The involvement of DARPA and the
newly created Homeland Security Agency reflects both a new level of
involvement by the government in funding Media Lab work and a
recognition of the growing synergy between private-sector and
public-sector surveillance efforts.

"The success of the CAPS II passenger profiling system, and the
successors to the TIA (Total Information Awareness) project, depend
heavily on the active cooperation of the private sector in the
aggregation of personal financial, travel, and other data," said one
Media Lab researcher. "Fortunately, privacy invasion has significant
economic benefits for our sponsors."

The benefits of ubiquitous surveillance are enormous, say TTF
sponsors.  "Data aggregation is just the beginning.  Imagine being
able to track every piece of equipment in your lab, or every
employee's location.  A smart network of tags and sensors can reveal
almost everything about your employees' work-place performance,
habits, even the most intimate details of their personal lives."  said
one CEO, "And the cost is so low.  The only real expense is personal
privacy."

But it doesn't stop in the workplace.  The real goal of TTF is to
extend the benefits of ubiquitous surveillance into the world at
large.  "This technology is everywhere," said one researcher.  "The
combination of bank cards, closed circuit cameras, and RFID tags
already in use make for an almost seamless web of surveillance.  We
just have to pull it together --- and access to this data is getting
easier all the time."

A few researchers have raised privacy concerns, "Privacy just isn't an
issue," says Professor Blackbridge, chairman of the Media Lab. "People
are giving up their privacy in the workplace, in the market, and even
at home without a second thought.  If they don't care, why should we?"


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