How To Search Your Site Using Google From Firefox’s Address Bar (with code)

I was just taking a shower and had a frightening idea. With all this talk of
the National ID program, and the inclusion of biometric identification into
the system, I started thinking about other trends in technology that could
impact it.

So the main danger, critics argue, of the National ID system is that as it
becomes prolific it will get used for more and more purposes. I think this
will include private industry before too long. We already send copies of
drivers licenses to do credit checks, for example.

Well imagine what will happen when we understand genetics better — all the
way to the point where one could have a test done and a computer could map
out the person’s tendencies and weaknesses. We’ve all heard about the fat
gene, a propensity for violence, being vulnerable to alcoholism, depression,
etc.

Well what if that data were to be stored in people’s files? What if it were
to be converted into an individual risk matrix (IRM). So on your card (and
in the database) would be everything about you up until that point. Obvious
things like age, race, height, weight, etc. But also things like country of
origin, who your parents were. What affiliations they had (think semantic
web), etc.

Now imagine this information being at the disposal of local law enforcement.
They stop the Arab kid down the road and run a “query” on him. Hmm…missing
school a lot. He’s been going to the local Mosque quite a bit. Oh, and he’s
genetically prone to religious devotion by a margin of 2.6 deviations. And
he’s walking out of a hardware store with a bunch of mechanical-looking
stuff.

Or how about your insurance agency doing a “query” on you. Credit score,
genetic risk factors for suicide, depression, heart disease, current health
records, etc. And all this information gets run through an algorithm that
decides whether you get a policy and how much you’ll be charged.

Or a local redneck at a bar late at night when the cops show up. Ok, he’s at
a bar. His father died in a drunk driving accident, he’s divorced, and he
has no ride home. Genetics indicate he’s likely to fight if we attempt to
arrest him. Call for backup.

The scary thing is that all of these things could be used for good.
Some other ideas that open up once the genetic material is easy to attain
and replicate:

college admission, dating sites, ordering brides…

Thoughts?

Notes

1. Feb 15, 2019 — This is horribly basic for 2019, but hopefully can be
   seen as a bit prescient for 2007.