The Dangers of a Biometric Future

Governments and businesses are compiling massive biometric databases. What could possibly go wrong?

Biometric data is information at its most sensitive. Not only do health and physical characteristics carry with them the very concept of our personhood and humanity, they are also often immutable and, therefore, permanently identify us. I can change my email address or my password, and I can even get a new legal name if I want to, but my fingerprints and my retina will never change. Once someone gains access…