Technology in your pants!
Photo from CNET News
According to this story by Stephen Shankland in an article at CNET News, computer technology can be printed on virtually anything. Does this frighten anyone other then me? The amount of data that can be collected about your every action could soon be accessible to anyone.
We are now being told the Xerox is capable of using inkjet printing methods to apply computer circuitry to any surface. There are may cool ideas that this stokes as well as scary ones too. Let us dive into both the pros and cons of this, although one man’s con may be another man’s pro (yikes).
Lets start with the bad so we can conclude on a positive. If I am wearing a pair of Calvin Klein underwear laced with this pre-printed computer circuitry, then every toilet, changing room, department store, restaurant, airport, etc., can track my every move and report it to anyone paying for this information. This takes geo-tagging to a completely different level. A small pre-printed size tag can be captured and tracked by any device programmed to read it no matter where I go, scares the hell out of me. I can be followed by anyone at any time. Do you really want people to know that you spent 15 minutes in the Macy’s bathroom in Seattle on November 26th? Do you want your significant other to know that you were at the flower shop purchasing a dozen roses for her as a surprise for your anniversary, before she gets them? Talk about Pandora’s box! I could go on and on about how this will make most people very paranoid.
The upside to this is just as impactful. If your child is missing and has personalized data technology printed on their clothing, it would be very easy for law enforcement to find them. I can see this being a new feature promoted by OnStar; “ OnStar, how can I help you?” “Yes, my child is missing, can you locate her?” “Yes Sir, she is in line at Hollister in the Phoenix Mall, would you like me to zap her for you?” Wow, how technology has progressed. Maybe your turtleneck has Bluetooth technology built in so you don’t need that annoying ear piece. Your imagination is the only limit on this one.
The bottom line is that we all have to take a real close look at how invasive we want to let technology get. I personally don’t want big brother in my pants!
