On a recent visit to Whole Foods, I was confronted by a glimpse of our not-so-distant future: Amazon One, a program that allows users to make payments with just a palm print. As the once-clear lines between technology and everyday life continue to blur, this was yet another enduring reminder that we, as a society, are having to wrestle with a dystopian reality.
At 30 years old, I’ve witnessed the evolutions of the computer lab and the now two-decade-old iPod. Currently, I lead a company contributing to the “virtual reality” economy, focusing on trade shows and corporate events. In this ongoing technological whirlwind, I find myself asking: Am I the only one my age resistant to my palm being used as a digital mechanism for identity?
My father started a credit reporting agency in the late 1990s, a time when court records were still searched by “runners” and standard information could take days or even weeks to retrieve. During its rapid development, I learned about the myriad ways people are filtered and branded. Factors and descriptions in civil court filings, neatly categorized, determined financial worthiness, employability and societal standing.
The term “cyberkinetics” has entered our lexicon, used to summarize the fusion of the biological and the technological. As our lives become entwined with these digital advancements, we navigate a delicate balance between convenience and the erosion of identity.
Forget the old identifiers of self – the punk phase of blue hair or security questions regarding your “favorite teacher.” Amazon One’s palm print payment system catapults what was once the realm of high-level security clearance (and James Bond villains’ safe rooms) into the hands of everyday people and, more importantly, manipulators. When our palm prints inevitably get hacked, what will be left to prove ourselves? It raises concerns about the extent to which our unique identifiers are cataloged, stored and potentially misused.
Moreover, as news of the latest cyber attack and breach in Maine surfaces – involving the compromise of potentially 1.3 million people’s information – the reality of “human cataloging” becomes even more ominous. This breach underscores the vulnerability of our digital identities and raises timely questions about the security of our personal data in an era where breaches have become distressingly common. As our society hurtles toward a future intertwined with technology, the imperative to safeguard our privacy and maintain agency over our personal information has never been more critical.
In this era, the line between our organic selves and AI-augmented personas becomes increasingly blurred. We have no choice but to wade into the uncharted waters of this technological frontier, albeit in some overpriced 3D printed inflatable kayak.
The question of resistance looms large. Are we, as a society, fated to succumb to the allure of convenience, sacrificing the remaining semblance of privacy and agency in the process? The echoes of “resistance is futile” from science fiction are metaphorically screaming right now, reminding us that the assimilation of technology into our daily lives may be inevitable.
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