DARPA’S SIMPLE PLAN TO TRACK YOUR EVERY MOVE

The cam­eras are already in place. The com­puter code is being devel­oped at a dozen or more major com­pa­nies and uni­ver­si­ties. And the trial runs have already been planned.
Everything is set for a new Pentagon pro­gram to become per­haps the fed­eral government’s widest reach­ing, most inva­sive mech­a­nism yet for keep­ing us all under watch. Not in the far-​​off, dystopian future. But here, and soon.
The mil­i­tary is sched­uled to issue con­tracts for Combat Zones That See, or CTS, as early as September. The first demon­stra­tion should take place before next sum­mer, accord­ing to a spokesper­son. Approach a check­point at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, dur­ing the test and CTS will spot you. Turn the wheel on this sprawl­ing, 8,656-acre army encamp­ment, and CTS will record your action. Your face and license plate will likely be matched to those on ter­ror­ist watch lists. Make a move con­sid­ered sus­pi­cious, and CTS will instantly report you to the author­i­ties.
Fort Belvoir is only the begin­ning for CTS. Its archi­tects at the Pentagon say it will help pro­tect our troops in cities like Baghdad, where for the past few weeks fleet­ing attack­ers have been pick­ing off American fight­ers in ones and twos. But defense experts believe the sur­veil­lance effort has a sec­ond, more sin­is­ter, pur­pose: to keep entire cities under an omnipresent, unblink­ing eye.
This isn’t some sci­ence fic­tion night­mare. Far from it. CTS depends on parts you could get, in a pinch, at Kmart.
Read more about CTS in my cover story (!!!!) for the Village Voice.

July 9th, 2003 | You can run... | Comments Off Both comments and pings are currently closed.