Robin Wilton's esoterica

       
 
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20 Sep · Tue 2005

Of Identities and Faces...


I have to think about this some more, but in the meantime... This story on the BBC site raises the topic of the relationship between physical/facial appearance and identity. All kinds of fiction exploits the rich potential of this theme: off the top of my head... The Mask (with Jim Carrey), several books by Richard Morgan (starting with Altered Carbon), Face Off of course, Desmond Bagley's "The Tightrope Man", and many others, I'm sure. I put 'The Mask' first, because for all its slapstick, it's the one in which a change of appearance is so directly linked with a change of character and self-perception. In the Richard Morgan books, where a 'personality' can effectively be backed up into a physical storage medium, the characters have to cope with what he calls being 're-sleeved', in other words, having their memories and personality decanted into a completely new body. So, of course, do their friends, acquaintances, lovers and families, which would take some getting used to. How do you react to someone who looks utterly unfamiliar, but who claims to be an old friend of yours and knows all those details of your shared history? And some or all of our current assumptions about biometric authentication would go right out of the window. Then there's the question of what being 're-sleeved' would do to your own perception of your identity. For instance, people who have cosmetic surgery often report that they feel like 'a new person', whether because of the change in their appearance, because they feel better about themselves, because they perceive a change in the way people relate to them, or combinations of all three. In authentication terms, how would we cope with someone whose biometrics have changed?
Posted by racingsnake @ 08:38 PM GMT+00:00

Biometrics and consent


It's interesting that the Home Office 'biometrics roadshow' is showcasing face recognition (though apparently there is "ultimately the possibility of iris-scanning and fingerprinting"). Today the television news reports have also been full of CCTV footage of the London 7/7 bombers on the public transport system, apparently doing a reconnaissance for their subsequent, ultimate journey. I think what makes me uneasy about face recognition as an authentication mechanism in this context, as opposed to a forensic technique, is that its operation does not necessarily require any consent from the subject. That's not to say every implementation is covert; there are instances (such as the US Immigration/Visa Waiver process) where it's perfectly obvious what's going on. But there's potential for much more inconspicuous implementation, and that concerns me, because the more pervasive the technology becomes, the more critical I think notions of informed consent become. Here's a previous blog entry on biometrics in the UK ID card scheme (it's the second entry for the date in question).
Posted by racingsnake @ 03:50 PM GMT+00:00
 
 
 
 
 
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Such views as I express in this blog are based on my own opinions, experience and judgements. They do not necessarily represent the policy or views of my employer. It is not my intention to offend readers in any way. If you find anything on this blog offensive, please contact me in the first instance.
Robin Wilton
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