Dr M.G. Michael PhD (ACU), MA(Hons) (MacqUni), MTheol (SydUni), BTheol (SCD), BA (SydUni), DipProfCouns (AIPC) is a theologian and historian with cross-disciplinary qualifications in the humanities. Michael brings with him a unique perspective to Information Technology and Computer Science. His formal studies include Ancient History, Theology, General Philosophy, Political Sociology, Ethics, Linguistics, and Government. Presently he is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Information Systems and Technology, at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He was previously the coordinator of Information & Communication Security Issues and since 2005 has guest-lectured and tutored in Location-Based Services, IT & Citizen Rights, Principles of eBusiness, and IT & Innovation. The focus of his current research extends to modern hermeneutics and the Apocalypse of John; the historical antecedents of modern cryptography; the auto-ID trajectory; data protection, privacy and ethics related issues; biometrics, RFID and chip implants; national security and government policy; dataveillance and überveillance; and more broadly the system dynamics between technology and society. Michael is a member of the Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA), and the American Academy of Religion (AAR). He has been the recipient of a number of scholarships and awards. Since 2006, Michael has presented papers at numerous IEEE conferences including the International Conference on Mobile Business, the International Conference on Mobile Computing and Ubiquitous Networking, RFID Eurasia, the International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology, and Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication. In 2000 he was invited to present a paper “Revelation 20:4-5 Chiliasm in the Early Ecclesiastical Writers”, at the Millennium Conference on the Sea of Galilee and the City of Jerusalem (Israel). More recently he was invited to deliver a paper at the 29th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (ubiquitous computing track) in Canada. He has guest edited the December 2006 volume of Prometheus on the theme of the “Social Implications of National Security”, and co-edited the proceedings of the First Workshop on the Social Implications of National Security on Citizens and Business, and also the proceedings of the Second Workshop on the Social Implications of National Security: From Dataveillance to Überveillance and the Realpolitik of the Transparent Society. His publications include papers for Quadrant, Prometheus, the IEEE Symposium on Technology and Society, and the Bulletin of Biblical Studies. Alongside Dr Katina Michael, his wife and colleague, he is credited for having introduced the concepts of ‘überveillance’ and ‘electrophorus’ into the privacy and bioethics literature.
Journal Papers (including editorials)
Uberveillance: Microchipping People and the Assault on Privacy (with K. Michael), Quadrant (2009)
Uberveillance is above and beyond, an exaggerated, and omnipresent 24/7 electronic surveillance. It is a...
A Research Note on Ethics in the Emerging Age of Uberveillance (Überveillance) (with S. J. Fusco and K. Michael), Computer Communications (2008)
Advanced location-based services (A-LBS) for humancentric tracking and monitoring are now emerging as operators and...
Historical lessons on ID technology and the consequences of an unchecked trajectory (with K. Michael), Prometheus (2006)
This paper traces the use of identification techniques throughout the ages and focuses on the...
National Security: The Social Implications of the Politics of Transparency (with K. Michael), Prometheus (2006)
This special issue of Prometheus is dedicated to the theme of the Social Implications of...
Microchipping people: the rise of the electrophorus (with K. Michael), Quadrant (2005)
Automatic identification (auto-ID) is the process of identifying a living or nonliving thing without direct...
Books (including edited volumes)
Australia and the New Technologies: Towards Evidence Based Policy in Public Administration (with K. Michael), Dr. Katina Michael (2008)
This workshop addresses the application of evidence based policy in public administration. It specifically focuses...
Innovative Automatic Identification and Location-Based Services: From Bar Codes to Chip Implants (with K. Michael), Dr. Katina Michael (2008)
From Dataveillance to Überveillance (Uberveillance) and the Realpolitik of the Transparent Society (with K. Michael), Dr. Katina Michael (2007)
The 2007 Workshop on the Social Implications of National Security: from Dataveillance to Überveillance and...
The Social Implications of Information Security Measures on Citizens and Business (with K. Michael), Dr. Katina Michael (2006)
The 2006 Workshop on the Social Implications of Information Security Measures on Citizens and Business...
Book Chapters (including conference proceedings)
Schengen Information System II: The balance between civil liberties, security and justice (with K. Michael), Australia and the New Technologies: Evidence Based Policy in Public Administration (2008)
This paper investigates the application of the Schengen Information System (SIS) in the European Union...
The Social Implications of Humancentric Chip Implants: A Scenario - ‘Thy Chipdom Come, Thy Will be Done’ (with R. Ip and K. Michael), CollECTeR Iberoamérica (2008)
Radio frequency identification (RFID) chip implants for humans are no longer the tales of science...
Amal Graafstra- The Do-It-Yourselfer RFID Implantee: The culture, values and ethics of hobbyist implantees (with R. Ip and K. Michael), Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication (2008)
This paper provides insights into the culture, values and ethics of do-it-yourself microchip implantees. Microchip...
Microchip Implants for Humans as Unique Identifiers: a Case Study on VeriChip (with K. Michael and R. Ip), Ethics, Technology and Identity Conference (2008)
Microchip implants for humans are not new. The installation of pacemakers in humans and a...
Privacy, Value and Control Issues in Four Mobile Business Applications (with B. D. Renegar and K. Michael), 7th International Conference on Mobile Business (2008)
This paper presents four case studies that explore the adoption and acceptance of mobile technologies...
Media (including articles about the author's research)
Big Brother an inside job (with Emma Shaw), Illawarra Mercury (2009)
Big Brother could soon be tracking our every thought and movement, according to a University...
Uberveillance (with New York Times), New York Times (2009)
Total and inescapable internal, personal surveillance.
Humans 'will be implanted with microchips' (with Josepine Asher and K. Michael), ninemsn (2009)
"Uberveillance is not on the outside looking down, but on the inside looking out through...
Vote 1 uberveillance: UOW term in running for 2008 Word of the Year (with Kate McIlwain and K. Michael), UOW Latest News (2009)
uberveillance (say 'oohbuhvayluhns) noun. an omnipresent electronic surveillance facilitated by technology that makes it possible...
'The Privacy Song' (this comedic song was written by Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie - an Alberta/Canada Band and features the uberveillance definition in their multimedia clip) (with Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie and K. Michael), Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie (2008)
Seminar and Conference Presentation Material
Überveillance: 24/7 x 365 People Tracking & Monitoring (with K. Michael), "You are where you’ve been: Technological threats to your location privacy". A one day free seminar hosted by the School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems and proudly supported by Omnilink Pty Ltd. (2008)
A Note on Überveillance / A Note on Uberveillance (with K. Michael), Faculty of Informatics - Papers (2007)
The following note from the editors presents a summary of the term überveillance, as it...
Location-Based Services and the Privacy-Security Dichotomy (with K. Michael and L. Perusco), Faculty of Informatics - Papers (2006)
Location-based services (LBS) rely on knowledge of a user’s location to provide tailored services or...
Location-Based Intelligence – Modeling Behavior in Humans using GPS (with K. Michael, A. McNamee, and H. Tootell), Faculty of Informatics - Papers (2006)
This paper introduces the notion of location-based intelligence by tracking the spatial properties and behavior...
The Emerging Ethics of Humancentric GPS Tracking and Monitoring (with K. Michael and A. McNamee), Faculty of Informatics - Papers (2006)
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is increasingly being adopted by private and public enterprise to...