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posted by martyb on Sunday July 05 2020, @02:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the Panopticon,⠀M.D. dept.

How Infrared Images Could Be Part of Your Daily Life:

A fever is one indicator that someone may be exhibiting coronavirus symptoms, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends temperature screenings in a variety of environments, including schools and businesses.

[...] When the pandemic took hold, I started seeing more and more companies like Amazon using this technology to help identify sick people in their warehouses. Thermal imaging cameras are beginning to appear in Subway restaurants. Carnival Cruise Lines, whose ships became hot spots for the virus’s spread, said all passengers and crew would be screened when it began sailing again.

The rapid adoption of infrared technology had me wondering how helpful it could be. Several systems are being rolled out, including camera-based ones and others that make people walk through thresholds like metal detectors. Could they actually help contain the spread of the virus while we wait for a vaccine?

A Harris Poll conducted in late March, just after the majority of the shelter measures went into place across the United States, found that 84 percent of respondents favored mandatory health screenings to enter public places.

[...] The growing use of the technology has raised privacy and other concerns.

Civil liberties experts have warned about data being collected on employees and used without their permission. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have proposed bills to help protect people’s information and privacy as data like temperature readings is collected, but the legislation has so far stalled in Congress.

“The road to hell is paved in good intentions, and the mass rollout of cameras should be seen for what it is: the mass rollout and further normalization of cameras,” said Ed Geraghty, a technologist at Privacy International, a British nongovernmental organization focused on privacy rights.

“We already see police repurposing streetlight cameras, put in place to monitor traffic and environmental data, in order to form criminal cases against those accused of vandalism — it would be naïve to believe the same will not be the case with these cameras,” he added.

All of this being said, could this technology work if used correctly? Yes. Is it better than nothing? It depends who you ask. But while we wait for a vaccine to be made, many see the benefits.

But will throwing infrared cameras up all over society make us safer from the virus? How might a grade school student react to seeing a classmate set off an infrared-based alarm walking into school? Will the time it takes to screen everyone trying to get into a building create problems for schools or offices? These are important questions that we will face in a post-quarantine world.


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  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday July 06 2020, @05:23PM (9 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Monday July 06 2020, @05:23PM (#1017166) Journal

    Everything is as quick and agile as we want it to be

    This is absolutely true. Some day you will understand that we can capture the mosquito in mid flight

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Monday July 06 2020, @06:40PM (8 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 06 2020, @06:40PM (#1017231) Journal
    In the meantime, we'll have to listen to you complain about problems decades or centuries old. Your arguments have a really short half-life, particularly compared to the problems you choose to complain about.
    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday July 06 2020, @06:57PM (7 children)

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Monday July 06 2020, @06:57PM (#1017238) Journal

      Where have you heard me complaining?

      You do your thing, baby

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday July 07 2020, @03:35AM (6 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 07 2020, @03:35AM (#1017493) Journal
        Here [soylentnews.org], for example.
        • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday July 07 2020, @03:54AM (5 children)

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday July 07 2020, @03:54AM (#1017502) Journal

          An observation, not a complaint

          --
          La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday July 07 2020, @12:27PM (4 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 07 2020, @12:27PM (#1017577) Journal
            A distinction without a difference. Your observation just so happened to be a complaint.
            • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday July 07 2020, @05:56PM (3 children)

              by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday July 07 2020, @05:56PM (#1017789) Journal

              In your mind. You're just looking for trouble.

              --
              La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday July 07 2020, @11:26PM (2 children)

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday July 07 2020, @11:26PM (#1017918) Journal
                So your complaint is not a complaint because I'm looking for trouble? Sounds like you need to work on your reasoning skills.
                • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:01AM (1 child)

                  by fustakrakich (6150) on Wednesday July 08 2020, @01:01AM (#1017953) Journal

                  No, your perceptions are just off, most likely due to internal bias.

                  --
                  La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
                  • (Score: 2, Funny) by khallow on Wednesday July 08 2020, @02:23AM

                    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 08 2020, @02:23AM (#1018002) Journal
                    Your internal bias. I notice you have yet to even try to justify why your complaining that I linked to wasn't complaining. It's the same evasion games you've played before.