From: Charlie Stross (charlie@antipope.org)
Date: Tue Dec 07 1999 - 03:18:42 MST
On Mon, Dec 06, 1999 at 08:13:06PM -0800, Spike Jones wrote:
>
> > Here in the UK, we're building the infrastructure of a very efficient
> > panopticon surveillance society. 600,000 CCTV cameras went up in
> > ...
> > they're testing neural network based face recognition systems that will
> > alert them if certain suspects are seen in public -- suspects believed...
>
> Looks like this could be easily fooled with something as simple as
> those Groucho Marx glasses/nose combination.
Unfortunately, no.
As I understand it, this sort of biometric system relies on
metrics -- such as the distance apart your eyes are, or the distance
from your ankle to your knee joint -- that aren't easily modified but
which are visible in public.
>If one were to be
> seen wearing that, people would understand it is a citizens protest
> against universal surveillance. Now, if it becomes illegal to wear
> Groucho glasses, *then* one should worry.
If it was an effective defense, they _would_ ban it. These security
measures are for our safety and comfort; anyone trying to defeat them
is obviously either a predator or a misguided paranoiac who needs
medical help. (That's the mind set of the current government; they're
doing this for public safety, and anyone who says otherwise can be
ignored because _of course_ they mean well, so their actions must be
good. Do you detect a certain logical fallacy here?)
-- Charlie
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