Total recall: are privacy changes inevitable?

ABSTRACT

Total Recall is a system that records an individual perspective of the world using personal sensors such as a microphone in a pair of glasses or a camera in a necklace. There are many applications of Total Recall -- patients accurately recording what they've recently eaten, students replaying any part of a class, and so on--that can significantly improve people's quality of life. However, data recorded by such a system may be also used by the judicial system without the consent of the user or of those being recorded. Pervasive use of systems like Total Recall will likely change our social structure as memory becomes vastly more reliable and complete. It is natural then that privacy advocates might consider such technology dangerous because such data can be used in unanticipated ways by government agencies or third-party civil litigants. In this paper, we discuss privacy concerns in the context of systems like Total Recall and propose a solution that may alleviate some of these concerns. We discuss the ramifications of this solution and its possible implementations.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.4 COMPUTERS AND SOCIETY
      K.4.1 Public Policy Issues
          Subjects: Privacy

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.5 Security and Protection (D.4.6, K.4.2)
          Subjects: Authentication

General Terms:
Design, Legal Aspects, Security

Keywords:
personal sensors, privacy, record and playback