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posted by Fnord666 on Friday July 17 2020, @03:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the smart-tattoos dept.

CNet:

A simple pair of sunglasses that projects holographic icons. A smartwatch that has a digital screen but analog hands. A temporary tattoo that, when applied to your skin, transforms your body into a living touchpad. A virtual reality controller that lets you pick up objects in digital worlds and feel their weight as you swing them around. Those are some of the projects Google has quietly been developing or funding in an effort to create the next generation of wearable technology devices.

The eyewear and smartwatch projects come from the search giant's Interaction Lab, an initiative aimed at intertwining digital and physical experiences. It's part of Google Research, an arm of the search giant with roots in academia that focuses on technical breakthroughs. The Interaction Lab was originally created within Google's hardware division in 2015, before it was spun out to join the company's research arm about two years ago, according to the resume of Alex Olwal, the lab's leader. Olwal, a senior Google researcher, previously worked at X, the company's self-described moonshot factory, and ATAP, Google's experimental hardware branch.

[...] It isn't just about selling hardware. Getting sensor packed-devices onto consumers could mean a treasure trove of data beyond what people produce on their phones or at their desks. It's an especially valuable haul for Google, which makes more than $160 billion a year in targeted ads that are informed by the personal data of people who use its services. The gadgets also create inroads to lucrative new businesses for tech giants, like health and fitness, though lawmakers and regulators have privacy concerns over Silicon Valley's ever-expanding scope.

Google wants to get closer to you.


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday July 17 2020, @07:03PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 17 2020, @07:03PM (#1023021) Journal

    privacy laws in the US and many other countries is such that: disclosure of your medical state, including communicable diseases, is (mostly [hhs.gov]) at your discretion

    Now to be fair you said "vaccination status is less protected", but let me take "at your discretion" and run with it . . . just for a moment . . .

    It is at your discretion to pull over when a cop turns on their flashing lights, and maybe siren.

    It is at your discretion to present ID to a cop, or get out of the vehicle when so instructed.

    It is at your discretion to confess to a crime if you ever want the interrogation interview to come to an end.

    It is at your discretion to show your papers please when asked by CBP within the 100 mile constitution free zone adjacent to national borders.

    I can imagine bad things. Out of fear, people will want proof that others are vaccinated. Government will likely be in favor of this.

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    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
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