The most excellent tech blog Gizmodo published an article about three weeks ago titled Hidden Government Scanners Will Instantly Know Everything About You From 164 Feet Away. In it, Gizmodo states that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working on equipment that will be ready in two years, and will be “capable of detecting every tiny trace of any substance on your body, from specks of gunpowder to your adrenaline levels to a sugar-sized grain of cannabis to what you had for breakfast.”
This isn’t new technology, but it’s faster – “ten million times faster” than existing technology. It’s also mobile and rack-mountable.
In other words, they’ll be able to scan everyone who walks through airports, shopping malls, office buildings, subway stations, and really – just any random place – without the individual being subject to lines, or even giving their approval necessarily.
For those of s who are tired of long lines in airport security, this is a great thing.
And for those of us who are law abiding, and who live under a government that responds to the will of the people and is not tyrannical, this is also a good thing.
For others … not so much.
And for those of us who are obsessed with technology, the potential for something like this, and available to existing automated systems, is … very very interesting.