cce blog

future fear

So, back from upstate New York and moving into an apartment at the very tip of Manhattan tomorrow. Not much else to report except for this article I saw in the Star-Ledger on the train yesterday: Collection of DNA brings huge task

It's a matter-of-fact account of how they're going to start collecting the DNA of "anyone convicted of a crime in New Jersey," beginning with those currently in prison but eventually extending to the collection of saliva by the bailiff upon conviction in court. The article states that NJ previously required only violent criminals and sex offenders to submit DNA, and with this new law will be expanded to include "anyone convicted of a crime." Can you have yoru DNA removed from the database if your conviction is overturned on appeal? Does this include jaywalking, traffic violations, political protesters, "white collar" criminals, etc? I can only assume so. (I have to do a little digging now to find out before my next NJ speeding ticket.)

At first I found the idea of having my DNA in a national database very alarming, but then I reasoned with myself, arguing it's no different from fingerprinting. But it IS very different! DNA carries much, much more information than fingerprints. What if the information begins to be used by other parties -- maybe as a sort of genetic screening test before you can get a job at the FBI, or leased to health insurance companies who will give you prohibitively high rates if you happen to have the "breast cancer gene" or some other hereditary disease? Every day the world becomes more like the movie "Gattaca".

Then this UPI article on Ethics and mapping the brain arrived in my mailbox this morning, declaring "Researchers may one day find brain activity that correlates with behavior patterns such as tendencies toward alcoholism, aggression, pedophilia, or racism." Maybe after they take your DNA, they can check you for thoughtcrimes ...