In 2005, the FBI began work on a database of biometric data, and that database, which contained almost 7 million profiles by 2009, is part of the Total Information Awareness system. Initially, it included only those convicted of crimes; however in 2009 it was expanded to include people who were not convicted of any crimes, such as those awaiting trial and detained immigrants. The goal has been to include as many legally innocent people as possible, allegedly to help solve more violent crimes, but we can expect that eventually, all of us will have a biometric data file on tap.
Having these NGI ID cards would enable government to keep track of people in their transport. When they want to go to another country, instead of a passport, they would have this universal identification card that would be linked to their biometric data. And this, I think, is pretty likely to occur. The NGI system is largely interested in keeping track of people by virtue of what's unique about them, using identifiers like the eye's iris, which is unique to each individual, and even including their DNA. In 2008, to the tune of a billion dollars per year, the FBI gave a ten-year contract to Lockheed Martin to develop the database, and at this point that database is already quite developed.
The biometric database is actually one component of a massive set of interfacing databases which includes the National Security Agency's database of electronic communication, email searches, and so forth. So it's all integrated. The aim is to create a virtually seamless system of data. The program is immense in its undertaking, but all the components are in place and the architecture is there.
The NSA electronic component is another component, and then you have surveillance cameras in major cities. Some of those cameras just store video and they're not observed, but other cameras are actually linked to this network of surveillance, and that includes the biometric data. So, for instance, by virtue of facial recognition software, agents conducting surveillance can key the facial recognition data into this database and relate that to biometric data, and they can get a whole profile, and if it's an individual on a terrorist watch list, they can identify that individual immediately. But at the same time, what you need to understand is that that's the ideal of it working right - but do you think it's going to work right? And the answer to that is no. I've spoken to many software developers and actually have a patent of my own on filtering technology, and there's a very high incidence of false positives.
First, Your Shoes; Next, Your DNA: Elliot Cohen on How Surveillance Is Erasing Freedom and Autonomy, Step by Incremental Step
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