Re: [XPOST] A unique number for every "person" - can it be done?

From: John Smith (JSmith_at_mail.net)
Date: 03/02/05

  • Next message: John Smith: "Re: A unique number for every "person" - can it be done?" 
    Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 20:22:23 GMT

    Arthur J. O'Dwyer wrote:

    > While I agree that there's no conceivable purpose to such an endeavor,
    > I can only say "*sigh*" about your first two paragraphs. How does the
    > existence of an algorithm to assign numbers to people have any moral
    > dimension, let alone allow any kind of "tracking"? Sounds like you've
    > been reading too much sci fi.
    > Consider: I have a computer program that assigns you, Jocob Sheehy,
    > the number 427094812. Does that mean I can "always find out where [you]
    > are"? Of course not! The two concepts are completely unrelated.
    >
    > -Arthur,
    > commonsensical

    Assigning ID numbers is, of course, only the necessary first step. It's
    not Sci-Fi anymore. Just recently there was a story in the news about a
    school in California that now requires its students to wear tags that
    encode an ID number and allow them to be tracked. Chips implanted in the
    body are the next phase of this technology. Don't believe it can't
    happen. 20 years ago who would have imagined that someday background
    checks would be required to fly. Anonymous travel is not the wave of the
    future.

    JS

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