In the 1990s, a researcher named Kris Pister dreamed up a wild future in which people would sprinkle the Earth with countless tiny sensors, no larger than grains of rice. These "smart dust" particles, as he called them, would monitor everything, acting like electronic nerve endings for the planet. Fitted with computing power, sensing equipment, wireless radios and long battery life, the smart dust would make observations and relay mountains of real-time data about people, cities and the natural environment. Now, a version of Pister's smart dust fantasy is starting to become reality. "It's exciting. It's been a long time coming," said Pister, a computing professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "I coined the phrase 14 years ago. So smart dust has taken a while, but it's finally here." Maybe not exactly how he envisioned it. But there has been progress. The latest news comes from the computer and printing company Hewlett-Packard, which recently announced it's working on a project it calls the "Central Nervous System for the Earth." In coming years, the company plans to deploy a trillion sensors all over the planet. The wireless devices would check to see if ecosystems are healthy, detect earthquakes more rapidly, predict traffic patterns and monitor energy use...more
This should, of course, immediately raise some privacy concerns. The CNN article quotes Lee Tien
"It's a very, very, very huge potential privacy invasion because we're talking about very, very small sensors that can be undetectable, effectively," said Lee Tien, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocate. "They are there in such numbers that you really can't do anything about them in terms of easy countermeasures."
Scott Bowen paints this scenario:
What is not voluntary give-away of information is when I go hiking in a remote place and think I’m all on my own, but the trees, coated with “smart dust,” are watching me. Perhaps in the year 2040, the Forest Service, Park Service, and BLM will post disclaimers at trailheads: “Dear Citizen: The trees of this publicly owned land have been coated with ’smart dust’ and will be collecting air, soil, and tissue samples. By entering this National Forest, you consent to the National Institutes of Health collecting your DNA.” That’s not too far fetched, and it is also creepy and wrong...
You can bet those D.C. dust fairies will have all kinds of fun with this.
Just imagine the BLMers or Forest Rangers driving by ranch headquarters sprinkling dust as they go. And you're worried about animal ID?
All you city folks just go right ahead and invite those census takers into your house. Better damn well vacuum up when they leave though.
On the other hand, wouldn't it be nice to spread a bit of that dust in some of those government offices? Hell, we might even restore the Republic.
I can just see them boys now, sneaking around the federal building late at night. I'll tell you who they are in my next Stockman article...maybe.
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