Buying and Selling

by epb

I was browsing YouTube last week when I saw this video. I got curious because it is all about  a company owned by Google.  It's about a product that deals with authentication and that can also be used in the medical fields.  Got your attention?

Photo From Wikipedia

Before we go on further, let us first define what authentication is.

According to the Free Dictionary website - Authentication is:

     1. A security measure designed to protect a communications system against acceptance of a fraudulent transmission or simulation by establishing the validity of a transmission, message, or originator.

    2. A means of identifying individuals and verifying their eligibility to receive specific categories of information.

     3. Evidence by proper signature or seal that a document is genuine and official.

   4. in evasion and recovery operations, the process whereby the identity of an evader is confirmed.

Authentication is one of the biggest problems in the modern world.  We need passwords to protect our accounts during our day to day activities (be it bank, personal, email account, etc).  Big companies rely heavily on authentications to protect their business and spend millions of dollar (billions when it comes to government, especially if this is a specialized department such as defense and finance) to protect their interest and secrets.  One example of issues in authentication are identity theft which is prevalent in the United States (approximately 14 million people and counting) and other countries including ours.

Another big problem can be found on the medical field wherein government and private institutions are finding ways on how to have a centralized data for each individual or patient. Medical professionals and institutions are looking for ways to achieve this so that patients can be diagnosed and treated correctly. Cost of malpractice lawsuits will be minimized or completely eradicated.

Here comes Motorola, a Google company.  I don't know if this surprises you, but Google acquired Motorola last 2012 by the tune of US$12.5 billions.

From Wikipedia

During the D11 conference last May, Google executives have presented the first electronic tattoo.  Regina E. Dugan, an American inventor and businesswoman and 19th Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA, has told everyone about the properties of the said electronic tattoo, and a daily pill that can be used as a substitute of password authentication.

Ms. Dugan has pointed out that the reliability of passwords are just like those of a credit card – reliable, yes, but not as much when they are lost or misplaced. And just like how credit cards can give us fast, cashless payment, these electronic tattoos and pills turn our body into an authentication device that is extremely reliable, as it is less likely to be lost or misplaced. It was also pointed out that teenagers nowadays would rather have an electronic tattoo rather than a watch, thus they made the tattoo be customizable for “fashion sense.”

The said devices are not likely to be shipped anytime soon, but have already received FDA clearance, according to Mr. Dennis Woodside, another Google executive.

Is this really what we want for our future, or is technology already getting the best of our senses? Are we sure that these innovations can bring us greater benefit, or is it just another ploy for the downfall of mankind? It was said, so they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast and the number of its name. Can this “innovation” possibly lead to the quote aforementioned?  

Below is a short video of that conference.

Sources:

NEWS

http://allthingsd.com/20130603/passwords-on-your-skin-and-in-your-stomach-inside-googles-wild-motorola-research-projects-video/?refcat=d11#ethics-statement

http://techland.time.com/2013/05/31/motorola-is-working-on-a-password-pill-for-once-daily-authentication-oh-and-a-tattoo-too/
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2013/06/motorola-to-challenge-apples-future-fingerprint-authentication-with-electrical-vitamins-and-tattoo-superpowers.html
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/12/electronic-tattoos
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20787-electronic-tattoos-to-monitor-vital-signs.html

COMPLETE VIDEO
http://video.allthingsd.com/video/regina-dugan-and-dennis-woodside-full-d11-session/A0EF86EC-0520-4465-B915-FDC7B366778A

DARPA
http://www.darpa.mil/default.aspx

IDENTITY THEFT
http://www.identitytheft.info/victims.aspx

MALPRACTICE
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/legal-regulatory-issues/29-statistics-on-medical-malpractice-payouts-and-lawsuits.html

AUTHENTICATION DEFINITION
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/authentication

D11
http://allthingsd.com/tag/d11/

REGINA E. DUGAN
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina_E._Dugan