Minority Report — Mexican-Style

Long story short, from Michael Winter's August 19, 2010 USA Today story: Mexico's seventh-largest city, León, is installing widespread iris-scanning technology intended to create "the most secure city in the world."

Here's the piece.

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Mexico's seventh-largest city, León, is on the road to becoming a real-world version of "Minority Report," the movie and short story that envision a future in which everyone is tracked wherever they go.

Fast Company reports that U.S. biometrics firm Global Rainmakers and its Mexican partner announced yesterday that they have begun installing iris-scanning technology in the city of more than 1 million in Guanajuato state, which the press release touts, without irony, as the place "where Mexican Independence was born." The companies aim "to fortify all aspects of life" to create "the most secure city in the world."

The first phase concentrates on law enforcement and security checkpoints. Then the iris scanners, which the firms say can "identify humans in motion and at a distance while ensuring liveness," will fill malls, pharmacies, mass transit, medical centers and banks, "among other public and private locations," Fast Company writes.

"In the future, whether it's entering your home, opening your car, entering your workspace, getting a pharmacy prescription refilled, or having your medical records pulled up, everything will come off that unique key that is your iris," says Jeff Carter, CDO of Global Rainmakers. Before coming to GRI, Carter headed a think tank partnership between Bank of America, Harvard, and MIT. "Every person, place, and thing on this planet will be connected [to the iris system] within the next 10 years," he says.

León is the first step. To implement the system, the city is creating a database of irises. Criminals will automatically be enrolled, their irises scanned once convicted. Law-abiding citizens will have the option to opt-in.

When these residents catch a train or bus, or take out money from an ATM, they will scan their irises, rather than swiping a metro or bank card. Police officers will monitor these scans and track the movements of watch-listed individuals.

"Fraud, which is a $50 billion problem, will be completely eradicated," says Carter. Not even the "dead eyeballs" seen in Minority Report could trick the system, he says. "If you've been convicted of a crime, in essence, this will act as a digital scarlet letter. If you're a known shoplifter, for example, you won't be able to go into a store without being flagged. For others, boarding a plane will be impossible."

Global Rainmakers says that to combat "the very costly threats of identity theft and fraud," its "new paradigm unleashes a vastly different operating model where privacy, convenience and security are synonymous."