TECHNOLOGY AND ITS REPRESENTATION IN THE COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA

BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES

The term Biometrics has recently undergone a change. Where once before it used to refer to the collection and analysis of data from a biological community, it has now been broadened to include the study of methods for uniquely recognising other human beings based upon physiological and psychological traits. With this data a being can be catalogued and the information stored on a database for validation or Identification procedures in the future.

The emergence and development of Biometric Identification technologies in recent years has caused mass debate in the communications media on a worldwide scale. The topic is a controversial one, because it involves costly mass production and distribution of scanning and identification technology, a vast amount of personal information requiring collection and assimilation, probabilities of infringements of civil liberties and all under the suspicion of compulsory membership of a ‘non compulsory’ scheme. You won’t have to carry Identity, but it may harm you in the long run if you do not.

The positives however are much more appealing:

The National Identity Scheme (NIS) is intended to secure our borders and tackle illegal immigration, to prevent identity fraud and criminal assumption of multiple identities (which is commonplace), to enhance the safeguards in place during police checks for people working with children and those who are vulnerable and to enhance the level of customer service provided across governmental departments and the wider public sector.

The Home Office. (December 2006) Strategic action plan for the National Identity Scheme. [online] Available: http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/downloads/Strategic-Action-Plan.pdf [date accessed: 13 Jan. 08]

The emphasis on identity has arisen, due to the recent political shift, relative to the global paranoia, post September 11th 2001. Since 9/11 governments in both USA and the UK have redoubled their efforts to pass laws that would introduce biometric systems to their countries health, immigration, employment, security and welfare systems to name but a few.

With all these services to cover there are more than enough sources of revenue for the biometrics industry. In 2005 the research and debate group BITE (Biometric Identification Technology Ethics) stated that:

The number of biometric devices in use in Europe has jumped from 8,550 in 1996 to more than 150,000 in 2004 and biometric industries revenues are expected to more than triple in the next two years.

BITE Project. (2005) Promoting Research and Public Debate on Bioethical Implications
of Emerging Biometric Identification Technologies. [online] Available: http://www.biteproject.org/ [date accessed: 13 Jan. 08]

These figures suggest an increase of more than 1750% over 8 years. The devices not only include heavy duty retinal scanners and fingerprint readers for access to secure buildings, but they also include the consumer security market figures too. Miniature portable fingerprint scanners are now available as a USB device for personal computer / laptop security. Some of the latest laptops even come with a scanner built in. You can pick them up on your local high street.

The good intentions of the governing bodies attempting to currently introduce this technology are small in comparison to the fears of what the information could be used for and the possibility that should corporations get hold of the information, a new form of invasive advertising and product pushing might begin.

This is no more evident than in the Stephen Spielberg action thriller Minority Report (an adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story.)
At one point the male lead is in the centre of a busy shopping district with an example of the un-ethical use of unauthorised retinal scanning to produce “personalised” adverts for their customers. But this man is on the run and seconds later his face is plastered across every screen and hologram within a five block radius. Further on and he has had to receive an eye transplant (bear in mind this is set 45 years in the future) to shake off his previous identity. The police employ a miniature retinal scanner in the hunt for him, but it is fooled by his “new eyes.”

Minority Report [DVD] (2002) Directed by Stephen Spielberg. Cruise / Wagner Productions. 142 mins.

This simple concept now appears to be closer than we think and through this medium of film indicates some of the possible problems it might incur.

It would appear that the British government consider the biometric ID card to be a more secure version of a passport or drivers licence. It is in fact plausible that the drivers licence and maybe even the passport would be scrapped entirely in favour of indicating driving privileges on the Identity Card. In 2002 David Blunkett made a television appearance on Newsnight for the BBC. In a transcript of the conversation he hints at the similarities between the current statistics of passport and drivers licence holders and the expected number of ID card holders, should a voluntary system be implemented:

Well, you have to register if you want to drive a car. You have to register if you want a passport. 38 million people have a driving licence. 44 million, including some youngsters, have their own passport. There's nothing new about registering. All those people do.

Blunkett. D. (2002) Teletext subtitle transcript from Newsnight (Real video of this interview is also available) [online] Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/archive/2093573.stm [date accessed: 12 Jan 08]

Mr Blunkett seems to make a good indication that although these technologies may not be mandatory you would require one if you wanted to do anything. This is what is worrying most of the people who will choose to “opt-out” of the system (The House of Lords allowed the bill to pass after five previous attempts on the condition that there was the possibility to opt-out of the system.) However the BBC has gathered this information:

What will happen when I apply for a passport?
You will have to go to your local passport office where you will be photographed and fingerprinted. The new Identity and Passport Service will then carry out a "background check" on you to establish that you are who you say you are. Your details will then be entered in a national database and you will be issued with a passport and an ID card. You will probably be able to use your ID card as a passport within the EU.
Will there be a discount for those who opt-out of having an identity card?
No. Charles Clarke, who steered the measure through Parliament when he was home secretary, said the final charges have yet to be worked out but those who opt out of ID cards will have to pay the same for a passport as those who accept one and their details will be entered into the database in the same way.

BBC News (09 Jan 2008) Q&A: Identity card plans [online] Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3127696.stm [date accessed 10 Jan 2008]

So although you might have decided to opt out of the ID card scheme this implies that the government will try to get you on their system in as many ways as possible. There would be no way of obtaining a passport without being entered into the biometric database.

The technologies themselves are not necessarily the root cause of the problem, but it is in the way it could be used for profiling that scares many people. The use of one method under biometrics, finger prints for instance, have been used for over a hundred years in the solving of crimes, because every one is unique.
It is a tried and tested system and the faults are known (for instance being at the scene of a crime hours before whilst totally innocent you might be arrested or just asked to provide a statement) as is the fact that someone intending to do crime would be smarter than to expose their fingers to anything.

Finger prints are also in this way one of the best security identifiers, hence why they have been used for years as right of access. They have replaced passwords for many people as a password is often forgotten or is easy to crack because many people use personal information such as date of birth and children’s names etc.

There is another form of risk when it comes to biometric passwords. There are no lengths to which some people will go to steal your identity, for instance the removal of a finger of a business man to start his Mercedes Benz.

Of course one can see why this might give biometrics a bad reputation.

In late 2007 it appeared in the news that the government had “misplaced” copies of 25 million Briton’s social security information, information that could be used in identity theft. What is to say that in the future this won’t happen again with countless numbers of British citizens biometric data? This information would not only have to be scrapped from the records for fear of mass identity fraud, but it would also be irreplaceable as the fields measured would be permanent factors of the person’s identity. The government’s answer to this is:

As described in Chapter 2, the information
in each person’s NIR entry will be in several
parts, with each part being held on a separate
set of technologies:
-biometric details will be held on the
biometric system;
-a biographical part of the entry will be held
on the Customer Information System (CIS)
technology; and
-Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) related
information will be held on the PKI
technology already being used for issuing
passports.

The Home Office. (December 2006) Strategic action plan for the National Identity Scheme. [online] Available: http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/downloads/Strategic-Action-Plan.pdf [date accessed: 13 Jan. 08]

Essentially only those in the highest positions would ever be able to view our biometric NIR (National Identity Register) in full and each separate identifier would be stored in separate locations and on different formats.

From what I can discern from the communications media articles there are two distinct sides to this argument.
On the one side are the majority of the Labour party and a percentage of the population of the United Kingdom who are prepared to pilot the biometric National Identity Scheme. And on the other are the Conservatives and Liberals whom are united with a larger percentage of the population.

It would seem that the government’s main representation in the media is through gruelling television or radio interviews where they have attempted to defend the reasons for gathering so much data about the citizenry and their public information on the home office and passport office websites.

Whereas most of the opposition to the scheme has been highly distributed via a similar range of sources including TV, radio, newspaper and the internet, but they are receiving more focus for their protestations, because their arguments are entirely plausible as many have roots in current issues that, although it is claimed the ID cards will solve them, it is already too easy to see the flaws with the system. What is in place to stop someone who has access to the biometric information from passing that information on? It is argued that once the information has been gathered it will be sold to third party companies which may very well breach one’s privacy.
Is it necessary to record the facial structure of every person in the UK over a certain age? Would this not lead to extra surveillance on the population and the possibility of mistakes? Facial appearance is often subject to change depending on the health, weight and age of the person. There is also the possibility that plastic surgery will become more popular amongst the unlawful so as to assume one’s identity further.

The government is attempting to communicate the fact that the biometric scheme will improve civil security, whereas the general public consensus that has been forwarded directly by the communications media is the idea that security levels would not change in lieu of the current systems in place, but it will in fact only lead to a loss of the civil liberties that we take for granted.

The main premise here is that many more people are willing to watch a television debate or read a newspaper, than they would be to listen directly to the government ministers, but through these sources they are biased by the opinions of those who send out the messages.

Essentially we only receive the information we have been allowed to see by people of higher authority in the media and will only truly know the extent of success or failure by testing the system for ourselves.

In 2006 the National Identity act was passed with a view to start voluntary application this year (2008). This year passports will also be changing to include more biometric data. So it is already here, despite all of the public opposition.

Organism project update

The main interface was intended to be Flash based as shown in the file
TRACY office anno.jpg
No.1 is the funtion to exit the program.
No.2 is the list of stored "suspects"
No.3 is the "reply" function (styled as a typewriter)
No.4 is where the PI would answer the telephone ( Incoming Mail)

Unfortunately i have been unable to produce a working interface
in time

Bruce Eckel has some interesting thoughts

This blog has definitely improved my awareness of the "situation" surrounding the web design community and despite being almost two years old it raises some interesting points that could still be hot topics in today's climate.

Organism project update

I found the solution to my connection problem! One little change to my code ( Literally adding an s on the end of Pop3) has allowed me to connect to the mail server and testing has found the spam in my dummy emails!

from
try
{
Properties props = System.getProperties();
Session session = Session.getDefaultInstance(props, null);
store = session.getStore("pop3");
store.connect(popServer, popUser, popPassword);
folder = store.getDefaultFolder();

to

try
{
Properties props = System.getProperties();
Session session = Session.getDefaultInstance(props, null);
store = session.getStore("pop3s");
store.connect(popServer, popUser, popPassword);
folder = store.getDefaultFolder();





I am so happy :) this has been bugging me for days.

Organism project pop3 info

Organism project update

I have downloaded some sound clips to serve as alerts / background music etc for my flash GUI.

These files are from a popular game (Team Fortress 2) which is an american cartoon stylised first person shooter for the pc.

Organism project update

Java coding is definitely more complicated than I first thought.

I have "borrowed" the source code for a mail application with the intention of modifying it to interact with my flash GUI and i have managed to get the mail app to work... to a degree. unfortunately i have come acropper with the code because although it appears to work there are some connection issues between my computer and the mail server.

here is my mailreader

package mailproject;
import javax.mail.*;
import javax.mail.internet.*;
import java.util.*;
import java.io.*;
import net.sf.classifier4J.*;
import net.sf.classifier4J.bayesian.*;
import net.sf.classifier4J.summariser.*;
public class MailReader
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
try
{
String popServer="pop.gmail.com";
String popUser="ss.tybs";
String popPassword="xenophobe1";
GetMail(popServer, popUser, popPassword);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
System.exit(0);
}
public static void GetMail(String popServer, String popUser, String popPassword)
{
Store store=null;
Folder folder=null;
String strEmail = "";
double dSpamScore = 0.0;
try
{
Properties props = System.getProperties();
Session session = Session.getDefaultInstance(props, null);
store = session.getStore("pop3");
store.connect(popServer, popUser, popPassword);
folder = store.getDefaultFolder();
if (folder == null) throw new Exception("No default folder");
folder = folder.getFolder("INBOX");
if (folder == null) throw new Exception("No POP3 INBOX");
folder.open(Folder.READ_ONLY);
Message[] msgs = folder.getMessages();
for (int nMsg = 0; nMsg < stremail =" buildMessage(msgs[nMsg]);" strsumm =" getSummary(strEmail,3);">m.out.println(strSumm); dSpamScore = checkSpam(strEmail); //dSpamScore = checkSpamWithBayes(strEmail); if(dSpamScore > 0.7)
{
System.out.println("--------------------------");
System.out.println("SPAM DETECTED:");
System.out.println("--------------------------");
System.out.println(strEmail);
System.out.println("--------------------------");
}}}
catch (Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
finally
{
try
{
if (folder!=null) folder.close(false);
if (store!=null) store.close();
}
catch (Exception e2)
{
e2.printStackTrace();
}}}
public static String buildMessage(Message message)
{
String strReturn = "";
try
{
String from=((InternetAddress)message.getFrom()[0]).getPersonal();
if (from==null) from=((InternetAddress)message.getFrom()[0]).getAddress();
strReturn += "FROM: " + from;
String subject=message.getSubject();
strReturn += "SUBJECT: "+subject;
Part messagePart=message;
Object content=messagePart.getContent();
if (content instanceof Multipart)
{
messagePart=((Multipart)content).getBodyPart(0);
strReturn += "[ Multipart Message ]";
}
String contentType=messagePart.getContentType();
strReturn += "CONTENT:"+contentType;
if (contentType.startsWith("text/plain")|| contentType.startsWith("text/html"))
{
InputStream is = messagePart.getInputStream();
BufferedReader reader=new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(is));
String thisLine=reader.readLine();
while (thisLine!=null)
{
strReturn +=thisLine;
thisLine=reader.readLine();
}}}
catch (Exception ex)
{
ex.printStackTrace();
}
return strReturn;
}
public static double checkSpam(String strEmailBody)
{
double dClassification = 0.0;
try
{
SimpleClassifier classifier = new SimpleClassifier();
classifier.setSearchWord( "belgium" );
dClassification = classifier.classify(strEmailBody);
}
catch(Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
return dClassification;
}
public static double checkSpamWithBayes(String strEmailBody)
{
double dReturn = 0.0;
try
{
IWordsDataSource wds = new SimpleWordsDataSource();
wds.addMatch("Belgium");
wds.addMatch("Vogon");
wds.addMatch("Devx");
IClassifier classifier = new BayesianClassifier(wds);
dReturn = classifier.classify(strEmailBody);
}
catch(Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
return dReturn;
}
public static String getSummary(String strEmailBody, int nSentences)
{
ISummariser summ = new SimpleSummariser();
String strSumm = summ.summarise(strEmailBody,nSentences);
return strSumm;
}}

and here is what happens when i run it:





annoying to say the least!

Another issue i can't fathom to work around is jdeveloper does not work on my vista laptop! Upon which flash is installed and any hope of me combining the two parts of the organism. :(

Organism project update

I have scanned in my workbook to show the processes worked upon in the last few weeks. These include sketches of the process tree i expect from my organism.

I am working on applying these processes with java code. This way i can have a working format and work on the GUI later.



So these pages from my sketchbook show the thought processes behind the program's functionality... and that i think Jeff Han is a ninja....

Erm... 4shot espresso please!

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Site

204 Project

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_filter

IDAT 204 ORGANISM Project

A new year, a new project and now the heat is on.

This module is interactive and intuitive programming. Workshop 2.

THE BRIEF:

Part 1 - Organism 25% Delivered by Dan Livingstone
organism n. 1. any living animal or plant including any bacterium or virus. Jean Baudrillard, Simulations2. anything resembling a living creature in structure, behavior, etc ----, organ’ismal or,organ’ismic adj. organ’ismally adv.
‘The artificial purification of all milieus, atmospheres, and environments will supplant the failing internal immune systems. If these systems are breaking down it is because an irreversible tendency called progress pushes the human body and spirit into relinquishing its systems of defense and self-determination, only to replace them with technical artifacts. Divested of his defenses, man becomes eminently vulnerable to science. Divested of his phantasies, he becomes eminently vulnerable to psychology. Freed of his germs, he becomes eminently vulnerable to medicine.
It would not be too far-fetched to say that the extermination of mankind begins with the extermination of germs.’ [ Jean Baudrillard ]
‘Artificial Intelligence: the art of making computers that behave like the ones in movies.’ [Bill Bulko]
Working in pairs generate "a living creature in structure, behavior, etc...". The final organism should be a form of interactive media, able to work on any platform from mobile, desktop, internet, ipod etc. The intention is to make the organisms accessible/downloadable on a live web siteThe rational behind this exercise?:
A: to generate a problem which is not technology driven, i.e. the idea drives the project. You should not start working on the computer until the ‘life form’ spec is generated. You will then have to find ways of realising it with appropriate software or platforms.
B: to force you to consider a truly timebased, multidimensional, interactive problem. In principle a life form needs to feed or to be fed, sleep, move, multiply, expel waste etc. It will be sensitive to certain conditions and have a life expectancy. Do not use buttons, instead concentrate on a process of interactions and behaviours. In defining a life form do not fall into the obvious trap of using cartoon characters, question existing models, redefine and innovate! What is digital life? What is OOPs?
Keywords: Artificial Life, Cellular Automata, Organism, Entity, Lifeform, Virus…

My first thought about this project was to combine it with the work I was attempting in SOFT 221.

(We are producing an instance of "Langstone's Ant") The ant would be used to edit images in an attractive, but possibly time consuming way. I decided this was quite a weak idea and went on with my generation of ideas.

My next idea was the Spam Demon. A little chappy that removes un-wanted emails from your system and sends back a reply:

"Your email has been eaten by the spam demon. Please do not send any more junk mail to this address.

If this is a mistake please reply with the keyword BANISH to ensure your email will be received."

The demon would be an animated figure on the desktop that notifies the user when spam has been eaten with a sound / visual animation allowing 24 hours before finally digesting them (deleting them) .

When the demon notifies the user it would provide functionality to reply to the "perpetrator" in an attempt to stop them from mailing the user.

After discussing this with Dan, he told me that most spam mail is sent from temporary email addresses that go dead soon after they send out the mail. So the Spam Demon idea took a turn towards deleting the spam mail, but also investigating further into the company / person that sent the email in an attempt to find a live email address that would receive the reply and act on it. For instance the director of a company is emailed instead of the dead email their company used to boradcast their spam.

And thus the demon dissolved to be replaced by Email Police and then a name came out of the Brainstom...

The Spam P.I. was born!

A Private investigator that will sift through the information provided (spam email addresses) and use it's detective's knowledge to search websites for similar addresses.

Products with similar functionality do exist, but in this project the P.I. will need to be kept busy in his hunt for "The Kingpin"

Some examples are Casper Spam Hunter: http://www.filetransit.com/screenshot.php?id=12218

And the search program would be based around something like Atomic Email Hunter: http://www.massmailsoftware.com/extractweb/screenshots.htm

Now then lets get cracking!

Interventions Video

Here is the video for my Interventions final piece. I hope you like it

FNG

Telematic Performance

For the first coursework project "Telematic Performance" I worked alongside a group of people to produce a transition from one state to another.
Although the brief was intended to be met without the use of technology, my group and I found it necessary that our message be delivered via a flash animation.

Our performance was about Stereotypes and how they can be warped and moulded to suit ones needs. We transitioned a set of stereotypes by merging them together to create new ones.

Using a combination of the stereotypical lifestyles we created new outlandish personalities.

We then combined all of these new stereotypes into one to produce an outcome. It was derived that from the multitude of combined stereotypes, aspects of the "average" everyman showed through.

We put forward that everyone has a bit of each of the stereotypes in them at any one time and no man can be segregated by particular stereotypes.

Interventions Update

Characters:

Serge: Cybernetics millionaire and military contractor reduced to a pauper. The man behind the mask. Manic depressive. One time implant junkie. Disillusioned. Horrific injuries caused whilst failing a suicide attempt with a shotgun meant that he had to craft himself a new face with his own technology.

[Costume: Blank mask with head scarf. Old Ex-military jacket.]

Jack Keenan:

Our lead in the tale. The Protégé to Serge. He has begun to follow in his masters footsteps in an attempt to better himself. Serge dissuades him to go further but he continues. When a brain implant goes wrong he begins to pick up radio signals that drive him insane. In a vain attempt to return to his former self he tears out his implants with his bare hands.

[Costume: Ex-military Parka, Jeans, Black T shirt]

The music for the backing track has changed again. As a suggestion from one of my actors i listened to Timelessness by Fear Factory and it captured the mood perfectly. It is darker and more emotional than the previous Song and although it has vocals they add to the atmosphere of the piece.

Back to work Moron!

I have found the perfect song for my Interventions project. It is the song used on the credits to the popular T.V series Cold Case. I believe that it would be perfect for a "Movie Trailer" It captures the mood and emotion of what I am trying to express, it starts slowly and breaks into a wonderful build up during the chorus, exactly what a good trailer needs to set the scene and then pile on the tension to it's climax!

The title of the track is "Nara" and it was performed by E.S.Posthumus.

Also in the running for the title soundtrack are Pompeii by E.S.Posthumus and Lonely Soul by Unkle Ft. Richard Ashcroft.

I have been storyboarding and scriptwriting over the Easter break, these will be posted soon along with notes on intended after effects etc. Filming should commence shortly.

I have also been considering names for my fictional movie and i have a few working titles.

Robotic Arms!

Interventions

A great insight into what it is to augment ones-self and pay the price for it, is given by the popular manga Ghost In The Shell:




In this movie two officers. One, part machine and the other, an android controlled by parts of a human brain, combat a cyber terrorist known as the "puppet master".

It centers deeply on the mystery of whether an A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) can have a soul.

The video excerpt is the title sequence from the movie. This depicts the construction of an android body, assumed to be the officer mentioned above, into which is implanted with living tissue.

This can be interpreted as my extreme case scenario where people are constructed instead of naturally born into the world.
It also indicates that although they are machines they are "born" as natual people are.

Interventions

Ever considered getting an "upgrade"?

What if you could upgrade yourself?

My Intervention is a look into Cybernetic enhancements and their possible impacts on human society, physiology and psychology.

I'm thinking of a possible future where implants and full transplants are a viable commercial product, are mass produced and surgically grafted to the consumer on demand. We join it at the point where a full body transplant from biological to mechanical has just become available.

I'd like to present a short news bulletin possibly within a run of adverts for "the product" documenting this point in history and how the advancements have improved our way of life....


Then....

Everything is not as rosy as it seems.

years later and sparked by a campaign by a militant anti-cyborg group, "The Skins," the general public have developed a "Pinocchio complex" and are striving to return to their former Human flesh and blood state.

IDAT 101

The Starbucks customer blog is up and running at http://drakecoffee.blogspot.com/

Starbucks Update

I managed to create the small questionnaire form for my IDAT 101 project using Adobe Illustrator CS and an image taken from the fire escape / seating plan from Starbucks in Drake Circus which was simplified in photoshop.


This seating plan is to be used to gather information about the most popular seating areas so that the stickers (below) will be in the optimal places to encourage communication between regular customers.

The sticker uses the simple Fast Show tagline "someone's sitting there mate" as a humorous and eye catching introduction to the concept.



The URL is a link to another "Public" blog that anyone can comment on as their addition to the seat's journey.