The Biometric Future

Clodfobble · 05-14-2008, 09:17 AM

My mom had the chance to catch up with an old friend the other day, and she related a story that completely blew my mind. This woman is about 55 or so, and as a single mom worked a variety of jobs over the years, some of them with a moderate physical component--assembly lines, waitressing, etc. Stuff with her hands, but nothing out of the ordinary.

She recently started a new job at an airport, some behind-a-desk clerical type of thing. As an airport employee, she had to submit to a background check, and have her fingerprints scanned for their biometric ID system, mostly used for logging in and out of the computers. The process is so routine that she had already been training on the job for a week before the results were back: her fingerprints hadn't scanned clearly. Try again. They tried a dozen times, with every piece of equipment they had, but her fingerprints are just old and worn down enough that it was impossible to get enough match points for their system. She couldn't be scanned.

End result: she lost the job. They were very apologetic, and got her paid for the one week under some weird contracting category, since she could not legally have been, or ever be, an employee there. She's not going to fight it as a civil rights issue because A.) she doesn't care about that sort of thing and B.) she didn't like the job anyway.

One would hope that the technology will improve when/if it becomes more widespread, or companies will be required to make use of some alternate source of ID for situations like this. Surely the ADA would have a field day with this...

Shawnee123 · 05-14-2008, 09:30 AM

They talked about "bar rot" on one of the investigative dramas recently (CSI, NCIS, PBR, PB&J, EKG...I can't remember which one).

This is interesting. I think you're right: this type of situation could open up a whole new can of worms.

xoxoxoBruce · 05-14-2008, 09:43 AM

The solution is nipple prints.

lookout123 · 05-14-2008, 10:51 AM

Mrs L has spent 19 years with her hands in various hair care chemicals and her fingerprints are very very degraded. People who work with photography chemicals get the same thing.

05-14-2008, 09:17 AM	#1
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	The Biometric Future My mom had the chance to catch up with an old friend the other day, and she related a story that completely blew my mind. This woman is about 55 or so, and as a single mom worked a variety of jobs over the years, some of them with a moderate physical component--assembly lines, waitressing, etc. Stuff with her hands, but nothing out of the ordinary. She recently started a new job at an airport, some behind-a-desk clerical type of thing. As an airport employee, she had to submit to a background check, and have her fingerprints scanned for their biometric ID system, mostly used for logging in and out of the computers. The process is so routine that she had already been training on the job for a week before the results were back: her fingerprints hadn't scanned clearly. Try again. They tried a dozen times, with every piece of equipment they had, but her fingerprints are just old and worn down enough that it was impossible to get enough match points for their system. She couldn't be scanned. End result: she lost the job. They were very apologetic, and got her paid for the one week under some weird contracting category, since she could not legally have been, or ever be, an employee there. She's not going to fight it as a civil rights issue because A.) she doesn't care about that sort of thing and B.) she didn't like the job anyway. One would hope that the technology will improve when/if it becomes more widespread, or companies will be required to make use of some alternate source of ID for situations like this. Surely the ADA would have a field day with this...

05-14-2008, 09:30 AM	#2
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	They talked about "bar rot" on one of the investigative dramas recently (CSI, NCIS, PBR, PB&J, EKG...I can't remember which one). This is interesting. I think you're right: this type of situation could open up a whole new can of worms. __________________ A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones who need the advice. --Bill Cosby

05-14-2008, 09:43 AM	#3
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	The solution is nipple prints. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

05-14-2008, 10:51 AM	#4
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	Mrs L has spent 19 years with her hands in various hair care chemicals and her fingerprints are very very degraded. People who work with photography chemicals get the same thing. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin

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