TY - JOUR

T1 - Who’s Who? : the biometric future and the politics of identity.

AU - Neyland, Daniel

PY - 2009/3

Y1 - 2009/3

N2 - This article engages empirically with the futures of biometric identification. It does so by engaging with the current UK political debate regarding the introduction of identity cards, by participating in a trial of biometric technologies and by working with an organisational setting where ID cards would be introduced (an airport). The article suggests that, although social science can not predict the future, it can map out ways to engage with technological uncertainty, the challenges of producing and mobilizing identity and the politics of technology development. The article argues that detailed engagement with these areas is currently neglected and that such neglect leaves problematic spaces in discussions regarding the development of biometric technologies.

AB - This article engages empirically with the futures of biometric identification. It does so by engaging with the current UK political debate regarding the introduction of identity cards, by participating in a trial of biometric technologies and by working with an organisational setting where ID cards would be introduced (an airport). The article suggests that, although social science can not predict the future, it can map out ways to engage with technological uncertainty, the challenges of producing and mobilizing identity and the politics of technology development. The article argues that detailed engagement with these areas is currently neglected and that such neglect leaves problematic spaces in discussions regarding the development of biometric technologies.

KW - Biometrics • ID Cards • Airports • Futures.

U2 - 10.1177/1477370808100543

DO - 10.1177/1477370808100543

M3 - Journal article

VL - 6

SP - 135

EP - 155

JO - European Journal of Criminology

JF - European Journal of Criminology

SN - 1741-2609

IS - 2

ER -