Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Home | Dictionary | Timeline | New

Gattaca-Style DNA Databank For 3 Million Americans

The American DNA databank used by law enforcement is growing by 80,000 people every month. Without public debate, the state and federal rules have widened considerably from the original mandate to include only the DNA of violent felons.

Here are some of the concerns raised:

• Law enforcement officials have engaged in "DNA Dragnets" in which thousands of people were asked to submit tissue samples to prove their innocence.
• "Familial searches" in which police find crime-scene DNA that is "similar" to that of a known criminal, and then pursue all of that criminal's family members.
• DNA has a lot more information than other unique identifiers, like a fingerprint. DNA may show susceptibility to disease, who your real father is, and other data that should remain private, and have nothing to do with crime.
• At least 38 states now have laws to collect DNA from people convicted of misdemeanors like fortunetelling. At least 28 states now collect from juvenile offenders.
• Five states (and four more by the end of this year) allow DNA scas of people who have simply been arrested.
• The DNA system is prone to error. In one case, a juvenile offender was matched to a old crime-scene sample; the case was thrown out when it was finally realized that the juvenile offender was a baby at the time of the old crime. It turned out that the juvenile offender's blood was processed on the same day as the older specimen and one contaminated the other.

In the twelve years of the DNA databank's existence, only 30,000 "cold hits" or matches to crime-scene evidence or DNA sampling have been found, making a conviction possible. Felony convictions handed down per year in the U.S. average about 1,000,000 per year. That means that the DNA database was responsible catching less than one quarter of one percent of criminals.

I'm most concerned about the tendency of government organizations and corporations to find other uses for this kind of information. Corporations, for example, might be very interested in your DNA before hiring you. If it can be shown that you have a genetic tendency to particular illnesses, they may refuse to hire you due to health costs - and you would never know why you weren't hired. There are a wide variety of biometric identification systems available; some are more intrusive than others.

This idea is well-illustrated in the science fiction film Gattaca, in which compulsory DNA testing was used by corporations to strictly limit employability. The same DNA database was used in simple traffic stops, in which every person was forced to submit to a cheek swab for DNA just because they happened to pass that way.

(Gattaca: innocent motorists get tested)

Obviously, these concerns need to be weighed against our right to use every reasonable method to catch and deter criminals. What do you think?

Read more at Vast DNA Bank Pits Policing Vs. Privacy (registration required). Read this earlier article on National Worker DNA Fingerprint Database Proposed.

Update 30-Apr-2007 Read some useful criticism and good links in the comments. (End Update)

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/3/2006)

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 18 )

Index of related articles:

Biometric security overview
Biometrics Glossary
Characteristics of successful biometric identification methods
Biometric identification systems
Biometric technology on the leading edge
Biometric identification - advantages
Biometric security and business ethics
Biometric authentication: what method works best?
Iris Recognition
Iris Scan

Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")

Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.

Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.

Vietnam To Have Full Biometric Transparency
'inscriptions too small to be seen with the naked eye; microscopic data...' - Eric Frank Russell, 1939.

Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.

 

	Web TechNovelgy.com

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'

SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'

Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'

CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride
Imagine digging your heels in to a steam horse!

Who First Thought Of A Tin Foil Hat?
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'

Warp Drive Tech Back On The Menu
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'

Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone
Why can't we get more innovative phone configurations?

Sleep Pods At Daxing International Airport
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'

Robot Baristas Learn Their Trade Without Paying Royalties
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'

JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'

Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'

Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'

Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!

Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'

Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'

TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories