It sounds like MLB is saying that, since this technology could potentially be abused, we shouldn't allow it. We might as well shut down the Internet, then--lots of abuse going on there, and it's definitely not all hypothetical!
RFID Tags and California Pre-School Students
- Thread starter CuttingEdge100
- Start date
I'll bet a good deal of the people complaining about this are voluntarily carrying devices that would allow people to track them without their permission, should someone choose to do so.
Yeah, I'm sure it's a big secret. Hence the various news articles naming the freaking school that's doing it.
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An excellent point.
Do any of you people complaining about this carry cell phones? If so, you've already got a tracking device. And it's even more accurate if it's one of those that has GPS on it. But even without that, your position to within a few hundred meters can be determined just from your relative distance to nearby cell towers.
As someone who initiated this kind of technology at a place I worked, Im all in favor of this. I was the Manager of IT at a company who had a huge warehouse with a ton of employees. We needed to keep track of their arrival and departure, where they were in the warehouse. So I set up an RFID system in the warehouse and at the employee entrance. They had to swipe their RFID card to enter the building, which allowed them to enter and also clocked them in. We had a video camera to record each entry to ensure that people didn't clock other people in. It allowed the warehouse managers to know where each employee was in the warehouse. It allowed them to direct employees where they needed them and ensure proper flow.
I don't.
82% of Americans have cell phones, so you're in a small (and shrinking) minority.
Obviously, there is always the potential for abuse when it comes to tracking technology. The key is to find uses that are reasonable, limited, and provide a benefit. I think this is one of those cases.
What some people seem to be worried about is some kind of vast network of RFID scanners that will track you wherever you go--they'll be everywhere so there won't be any way around them. This is highly impractical especially considering the vast majority of people already carry devices that allow easy tracking (cell phones.) There's just no reason to use RFID in this way on a large scale. It would be expensive and provide very little utility to either individuals or society at large.
So this is like wearing a com-badge while you're on the Enterprise? 
As for cell phones being tracked, maybe people should have an option of not having GPS fitted to their phones, maybe there should be greater restrictions for using cell phone towers to track people.
Mr. Laser Beam,
Of course
Yes, I do.
Robert Maxwell,
Really hyperbolic, there, isn't it? Neither of us are for shutting down the internet, however I do believe that this application of RFID chips is dangerous.
While virtually all technological applications have a potential for good and bad, there are some that have a far greater potential for bad than good. There are some people who would still be for pursuing a line of research even there was a 95% chance of something bad happening, and 5% of something good happening. I personally think the cons outweigh the pros.
Mr. Laser Beam,
Of course
Yes, I do.
Robert Maxwell,
Really hyperbolic, there, isn't it? Neither of us are for shutting down the internet, however I do believe that this application of RFID chips is dangerous.
While virtually all technological applications have a potential for good and bad, there are some that have a far greater potential for bad than good. There are some people who would still be for pursuing a line of research even there was a 95% chance of something bad happening, and 5% of something good happening. I personally think the cons outweigh the pros.
So this is like wearing a com-badge while you're on the Enterprise?
Interestingly, in the novel Dark Mirror, that's sort of a plot point. No one on the MU Enterprise has personal communicators, because it would make people easier to track down and kill.
Thank you, these are exactly my thoughts on the matter. No amount of technology can replace adult supervision of good quality and quantity. The reality, however, is that schools in many countries are woefully underfunded, and a lot of the problems schools face in terms of student behaviour is due to being understaffed (show me a school which has enough adult supervision at lunch-and breaktimes and I'll show you an anomaly). This tagging system is only being used within the school itself. No one is suggesting that kids should be microchipped in the same manner as my Golden Retriever. Until governments and whinging taxpayers pull their fingers out of their asses and fund schools properly measures such as these will have to suffice.