TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: FAQ: How Real ID Will Affect You

Re: FAQ: How Real ID Will Affect You

Dean M. (cjmebox-telecomdigest@yahoo.com)
Tue, 17 May 2005 00:45:49 GMT

We're playing with words here, but more like Garbage In - Garbage-Out
I'd say. Too much information is available as input to decision aiding
systems of still evolving (dubious?) design. These systems are then
used to make potentially life changing decisions. With almost no
quality control on this information and no control of the information
by its subject (unless I'm missing something significant), it is a
recipe for disaster.

In this context, I can't see the upside for Real ID, but neither do I
identify it as the main culprit (military personel have unique
identifiers, and I am not aware of any proof that they suffer from
proportionately more information quality problems than do the rest of
us).

I think we're putting the cart before the horse with this new law. It
seems to me we should have first strengthened our information
quality/information use/information liability and privacy laws, and
then debated the merits of yet another identifier (we already have
state ID, state DLs, passports, Social Security numbers, etc).

Dean

John R. Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote in message
news:telecom24.216.6@telecom-digest.org:

>> What I'm not willing to deal with is the same fallout because somebody
>> else (with the same name) had one of the above issues happen.

>> In this respect, a universal ID is a good thing, names simply aren't
>> unique enough.

> Gosh, I love people's naive belief in technology. You know the
> acronym GIGO, which stands for Garbage In, Gospel Out? That's what
> Real ID is.

> Mixups will still happen, because the people maintaining the files and
> databases will be the exact same sloppy error-prone people who
> maintain them today. The cost of getting a fake Real-ID license will
> continue to be the price of bribing the most corrupt person in some
> state's DMV. The difference will be that it'll be far harder to get
> mistakes fixed, because now everyone will know that licenses are
> perfect, so if the computer says that you are a crook, it must be
> right and you're just lying.

> R's,

> John

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