I thought longingly of a future in which I could just walk up to that machine and it could somehow identify me immediately and give me the money. For example, one could be identified through an iris print because the patterns on the human iris are fixed and can be captured with a standard video camera. In fact, there has been great development with the technology of iris prints and British telecom has developed an iris scanner that can create an iris print of a person while they are driving their car at high speeds. Another method that may be used in the near future to identify people is the facial thermogram.
Facial thermograms use the patterns of veins and arteries beneath the skin for identification.
Other popular identification technology includes signature and handwriting analysis, voice analysis, palm prints, and facial recognition systems. With a future of absolute identification within reach, a political debate has surfaced concerning its ethics and possible flaws. Proponents of absolute identification argue that by replacing anonymity with absolute identity, a society could be created whereby everyone would be held accountable for all their actions, would receive all guaranteed benefits, and would live in a world in which crimes, such as identity thefts, would be rendered a thing of the past. However, critics of absolute identification, such as Simson Garfinkel, the author of Database Nation, argue that absolute identification is fundamentally flawed. Even though I have to admit that the idea of absolute identification is frightening, I still believe that it is somewhat inevitable and may be the only thing that can stop such serious crimes as identity theft.