Abstract: Radiofrequency identification devices have been used in the retail industry for over 15 years, especially with supply chain management solutions in mind. Today, they are being adopted for a variety of reasons, within contactless cards, within objects, and even for asset management tracking and tracing to name a few application areas. But how will RFID fit within the Internet of Everything scenario? Realistically, are humans next to be tagged? This seminar will present the potential for RFID to be not only interwoven in clothing but to also be adopted beneath the skin. The scenario walkthrough ponders on the perceived benefits and costs of a world where humans are the next mobile node, ambiently interacting with the space around them. This talk discusses the notion of uberveillance, defined by MG Michael, as embedded surveillance devices, and the socio-ethical impact of this kind of identity management system in everyday life. What will it mean for humans to invite technology within themselves for non-medical reasons?

About the speaker: Katina Michael is the editor in chief of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine and senior editor of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine. She is presently the associate dean international in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences at the University of Wollongong. Katina has been researching the social implications of radio-frequency identification for twenty years, and is well known for her research in supply chain management but also implantable chips for convenience, care and control applications. She has co-guest edited several special issues in RFID Innovation, including for Proceedings of the IEEE. Together with MG Michael she has helped define the notion of uberveillance which refers to the ultimate trajectory of embedded devices in the body for surveillance. Katina’s former employer, Nortel Networks, financially supported the first RFID implant research project at the University of Reading between 1998 and 2002.