In an article recently posted on Friends of Europe, the authors examine a new technology that may have serious implications towards human autonomy, free will, and privacy.

Shockingly, the technology is actually found in a virtual reality video game called Beat Saber, and “can uniquely identify human subjects in less than ten seconds through the biomechanics of a person’s movement.” In other words, the technology can identify a person’s unique ‘motion print’ in the same way we think of fingerprints.

Though fascinating, the authors foresee how the use of these ‘motion prints’ can be harmful to privacy and human agency: the technology can be used to identify someone without their consent, it can identify someone completely from behind, and one would have no knowledge if they’ve been targeted by this technology for personalized manipulation. Furthermore, if this technology fell in the hands of an authoritarian regime, it could be used to further suppress dissent by identifying specific individuals engaging in protests and political movements.

The authors warn, “If we do not regulate these technologies and their use at inception, human autonomy will be greatly diminished — even in societies that are currently democratic.”

The full article can be found here: The Convergence of New Technologies Endangering Human Agency.

For more information on topics related to this piece, check out HSDL’s In-Focus topic on Artificial Intelligence.