Posted on 01/23/2003 1:44:54 PM PST by dirtboy
Edited on 06/29/2004 7:09:40 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Bills, not words, define the latest criticism of the U.S. government's controversial Total Information Awareness program.
Seeking to catch terrorists before they strike, the research program aims to develop data-mining and pattern-matching tools to search databases that track American citizens' purchases, doctor's visits and travel itineraries. It is the signature project of the Information Awareness Office, which operates under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, commonly known as DARPA.
(Excerpt) Read more at wired.com ...
This bill, quite frankly, is an attempt to politicize the matter. I think Feingold's moratorium is probably the best approach here, although I think his bill should not forestall research into techniques, just any implementations.
This process is in the early stages. I think Feingold is genuinely trying to do something productive and effective about TIA and governmental data mining in general (which is not automatically a bad thing), whereas the proposals by Daschle and Wyden are little more than an effort to politicize the matter. I figure it will take a month or two before there is any action regarding TIA, but IMO it will either be killed or severely curtailed.
....A great step forward to keep the barbarians at bay...Bases on info already widely available about each of us....allows technology to better focus on those who truly want to kill us as quickly and efficiently as possible.....
On the other hand, a totaly hated program by the devious, the bewildered, certain folks in the mid-east...as well as the basically uninformed who are hanging onto tired cliches and are essentially naive.
And I suppose you'll claim it slices, dices, and makes Juilenne Fries as well. Direct-response firms, with very bright statisticians and data modelers using that already-available data you referred to, do cartwheels if they exceed a one-percent response rate for their mailings, but this database will identify potential terrorists who are aware of its existence and will take countermeasures to avoid detection. Please send me your name and address, DR firms love suckers who buy into every promise made to them...
On the other hand, a totaly hated program by the devious, the bewildered, certain folks in the mid-east...as well as the basically uninformed who are hanging onto tired cliches and are essentially naive.
I work with multi-terabyte marketing databases for a living. I think this program will never work as intended, and instead would probably be used as a lookup database against political opponents if it ever were to be implemented.
That's my expertise in the subject. What is YOUR expertise, jack? Ever work with that much data in such a setting?
It's a valid research project that can have good uses. Of course congress should maintain oversight of it.
The Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening Program II More Checks on U.S. Travelers seems more dangerous IMHO.
Privacy and the 4th Amendment are "tired clichés"??
A great step forward
"No, get it right! It's 'A Great Leap Forward', but I do appreciate your sentiment. Keep up the good work and don't let these Traitors To The Revolution get you down. Your pal, Mao."
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