Biometrics is the practice of using an individual's physical or behavioral characteristics for identification and verification purposes. The methods employed in biometric identification range from simple fingerprinting to retina scans and DNA testing. Most commonly, biometric identification is used as a means of improving the security of personal electronic devices, but can be utilized in a wide variety of other applications as well. However, while the use of biometric technologies is becoming increasingly widespread, critics argue that the shortcomings of such technologies present significant risks to the general public.
History
The concept of biometrics as it is understood today dates back as far as the late nineteenth century, when fingerprinting was first developed as a tool for law-enforcement officials. In the 1870s, British physician Henry Faulds devised the first substantial system for classifying human fingerprints. After Faulds' system was refined and improved by Francis Galton in the 1890s, fingerprinting was quickly adopted by law-enforcement agencies for criminal-identification purposes. In just a few decades, fingerprinting became one of the leading forms of identification in America.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the federal government began requiring photo identification in addition to fingerprinting for critical personal identification documents such as driver's licenses and birth certificates. Gradually, over the course of the remainder of the twentieth century, continued research led to the emergence of many other biometric technologies that have become commonplace today.
Biometrics: Types and Applications
Today, biometric technologies have many possible applications. In general, biometric technologies are categorized according to their mechanism of analysis. The two largest categories are visual biometrics and behavioral biometrics.
Visual biometrics use human characteristics that are visually identifiable. Fingerprinting is perhaps the most fundamental example of a visual biometric. Iris and retina recognition, in which special machines are used to identify people by the unique features of their eyes, are also visual biometrics. Finger and hand geometry, in which identity is determined through verification of the specific geometric features of those extremities, is another.
Behavioral biometrics involve the observation of various human behaviors for patterns that are unique to specific individuals such as walking style, signature, and manner of typing. In some cases, a person's online habits can also be used as a behavioral biometric.
Other types of biometrics include auditory biometrics, olfactory biometrics, and chemical biometrics. Determining a person's identity based on the sound of his or her voice is an example of an auditory biometric. An olfactory biometric identifies people based on smell. Chemical biometrics include advanced forms of biological identification such as DNA testing.
As the field of biometrics has evolved and broadened, the number of technological innovations making use of biometric data has risen dramatically. Many modern electronic devices, such as cell phones and tablets, use fingerprint recognition to confirm user identity and thereby protect private information. Fingerprinting technologies are also used to confirm the identity of students and facilitate other processes in some schools. Many modern casinos rely on facial-recognition software to identify cheaters.
Some biometric technologies are used on a broader scale. The social media website Facebook utilizes facial recognition software to help users tag their friends in the photos they share. Some advertisers use data they acquire about people's Internet habits to tailor their ads to people's specific interests. A number of financial institutions now use customer voice imprints as part of their ongoing efforts to prevent fraud. In its Next Generation Identification system, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has built a massive database of fingerprint, iris scan, and facial-recognition information that it uses to identify suspects and solve crimes.
Criticism
Though it has yielded numerous technological advancements that serve to improve security and convenience, biometrics continues to be highly controversial. Many critics see biometrics as a flawed science that should only be used with great caution, if at all. Specifically, criticism of biometrics is often based on one of two main arguments: (1) biometrics is subject to certain technical limitations, or (2) it presents problematic legal, ethical, or social concerns.
Critics who focus on the technical limitations of biometrics point out that many of these technologies are inherently flawed and prone to error. Facial-recognition software, for example, may not be able to account for the natural changes that occur because of aging. Similarly, voice-recognition systems may also fail to recognize an authorized user whose voice has changed, perhaps because of a cold or other illness. Such limitations, critics argue, make biometrics potentially unreliable and sometimes even dangerous.
Those who criticize biometrics because of its legal, ethical, or social implications focus on the way biometrics may negatively affect the public's freedom and security. Many argue that the compiling and storing of biometric data may constitute a violation of personal privacy, particularly when there is a lack of appropriate legislative oversight. Indeed, privacy concerns are one of the leading obstacles facing biometric technologies, such as Facebook's facial-recognition software, which uses biometric data to identify people without their permission or knowledge. More broadly, these critics fear that biometrics will ultimately dehumanize people until they are seen as little more than sets of data and then discriminate against them based on this data.
Bibliography
Dredge, Stuart. "10 Things You Need to Know About Biometrics Technologies." Guardian. Web. 9 Dec. 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/17/10-things-to-know-about-biometrics
Peterson, Andrea. "The Biometrics Revolution Is Already Here – And You May Not Be Ready For It." Washington Post. Web. 9 Dec. 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/10/17/the-biometrics-revolution-is-already-here-and-you-may-not-be-ready-for-it/
"Types of Biometrics." Biometrics Institute. Web. 9 Dec. 2014. http://www.biometricsinstitute.org/pages/types-of-biometrics.html
Yesil, Bilge. "Biometrics." In Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. Print.
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