What is exactly
Überveillance? The definition is an omnipresent electronic surveillance
facilitated by technology that makes it possible to embed surveillance devices
in the human body. The question is, is this far from reality or is just science
fiction?
To begin with, let’s
explain something that already exist and is called the Radio-frequency
identification RFID chip. Is the wireless non-contact use of radio-frequency electromagnetic
fields to transfer data, for the purposes of automatically identifying and
tracking tags attached to objects.
The RFID is already
being used for various purposes like: Access management, Tracking of goods, Tracking
of persons and animals, Toll collection(e-tag) and, contactless payment(pay
wave, pay pass) , Machine readable travel documents, Smartdust (for massively
distributed sensor networks), Tracking sports memorabilia to verify
authenticity, Airport baggage tracking logistics. With this, people is already being
traced and located making Überveillance real.
This is an extract of
the documentary zeitgeist talking about the RFID chip and the fist family that
had the RFID chip implant.
With this you can
tell someone somewhere is trying to lock everyone in a monitored control grid
were every single action is documented and were people will not be forced to
get the implant but people will demand for it or used it in other ways like e-tag
or passports.
Science fiction…
could be, to be real? Is not too far. The question might change and will be who will be behind all this?
M.G. Michael and
K. Michael (2009). "Uberveillance:
Definition" in ed. S. Butler, Fifth Edition of the Macquarie Dictionary
(Australia's National Dictionary, Sydney University), p. 1094
