Irma Van der PloegThe Machine-Readable BodyEssays on biometrics and the informatization of the body | |
ISBN: | 978-90-423-0278-5 |
Series: | Filosofie |
Keywords: | Science; Technology; Surveillance; Computer Ethics; Philosophy of Technology; Technology Ethics |
Type of publication: | Reference books |
Language: | English |
Pages: | 150 pages |
Weight: | 203 g |
Format: | 21 x 14,8 cm |
Binding: | Paperback |
Price: | 18,00 € / 36,00 SFr |
Published: | October 2005 |
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Abstract: | In the quest for security in today’s unstable world of mass migration, terrorism and economic globalization, reliable identification of individuals is considered a top priority on all policy levels. Biometric identification technologies are widely believed to form part of the solution to this problem, and therefore currently implemented in many diverse settings, ranging from fighting social security fraud, securing entry into buildings, bank accounts, amusement parks, and countries, to controlling the use of fire arms, mobile telephones, personal computers, and passports.
This book offers six essays looking into various social, philosophical, and ethical aspects of the use of individual bodily characteristics for purpose of automated identification and authentication. In so doing, it attempts to probe beyond the widely acknowledged privacy problems involved, into the wider significance of the emergence of ‘the machine-readable body’. |
Author profile | Irma van der Ploeg (PhD) holds a degree in philosophy and science & technology studies. She is a senior researcher at the Institute for Health Care Policy and Management of Erasmus University MC, Rotterdam, and has published extensively on normative aspects of medical and information technologies. |