The United States intelligence community is launching a research project to develop ‘’Smart Clothing,’’ according to America First Report. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced on Aug 22 that it’s tech arm, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), will be developing the so-called smart clothing.
The project will be called Smart Electronically Powered and Network Textile Systems, or ‘’Smart E-pants.’’
Critics have panned the development already, citing computerized clothing could lead to massive overreach of biometric surveillance on citizens. The move would also lead to an abundance of radiation exposure.
The development of computerized threads is not expected to come to fruition for another three or so years. The Pentagon released a statement on Aug 9th announcing that IARPA, with the Naval Research Center in tow, awarded the massive contract to Nautilus Defense and Leidos Inc.
The contract is worth $22 million. SRI International, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Arete were also awarded an undisclosed sum to research and develop the technology.
The ‘’Smart E-pants’ Program manager, a PHD called Dawson Cagle, has spearheaded the program. Cagle was inspired to create a better health monitoring system by his diabetic father.
Cagle’s program has been funded by investment giants Vanguard and Black Rock. Both companies were heavily involved in the funding of the COVID-19 shot and COVID passports. Both companies are the top donors to Nautilus Defense and Leidos’s.
The Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association stated, "Smart E-Pants could revolutionize the internet of things by collecting data to help intelligence, medical, and sports communities."
Critics have wasted no time pointing out the obvious privacy concerns surrounding the Smart E-Pants development. Ted Claypoole, legal expert, and cyberspace law committee chair for the American Bar Association told The Defender that computer chipped clothing is likely going to be used for something more sinister than monitoring your health.
Claypoole stated the development of the fabrics ‘’Is not just for keeping people safe, but also for finding and following smart fabric wearers who do not know they are being followed.’’
Claypool co-authored a book, Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Recognizing Threats, defending your rights and Protecting Your Family, where he traced back efforts to create smart clothing for nearly a decade.
He pointed to examples like ski jackets with air pods built into the hoods that connect to your phone via Bluetooth technology as convenient, but worrisome as they were developed by the intelligent community.
W. Scott McCullough, lawyer for the Children Health Defense’s Electromagnetic radiation cases, shares Claypoole’s concern.
McCullough issued a statement saying, ‘’While the person choosing to wear the computerized clothing at least has given some consent, all those around that person have no say at all. I question whether any of this is legal. This technology will gather biometric data from those nearby, as well as capture audio and visual data. These are states where all party consent is required for this."
IARPA has responded to the criticism. Spokesperson Nicole De Hayy told The Intercept, ‘’IARPA performs civil liberties and privacy protection compliance reviews throughout our research efforts.’’ IARPA had no further elaboration on if they could ensure that citizens privacy would not be breached.
The project will be called Smart Electronically Powered and Network Textile Systems, or ‘’Smart E-pants.’’
Critics have panned the development already, citing computerized clothing could lead to massive overreach of biometric surveillance on citizens. The move would also lead to an abundance of radiation exposure.
The development of computerized threads is not expected to come to fruition for another three or so years. The Pentagon released a statement on Aug 9th announcing that IARPA, with the Naval Research Center in tow, awarded the massive contract to Nautilus Defense and Leidos Inc.
The contract is worth $22 million. SRI International, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Arete were also awarded an undisclosed sum to research and develop the technology.
The ‘’Smart E-pants’ Program manager, a PHD called Dawson Cagle, has spearheaded the program. Cagle was inspired to create a better health monitoring system by his diabetic father.
Cagle’s program has been funded by investment giants Vanguard and Black Rock. Both companies were heavily involved in the funding of the COVID-19 shot and COVID passports. Both companies are the top donors to Nautilus Defense and Leidos’s.
The Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association stated, "Smart E-Pants could revolutionize the internet of things by collecting data to help intelligence, medical, and sports communities."
Critics have wasted no time pointing out the obvious privacy concerns surrounding the Smart E-Pants development. Ted Claypoole, legal expert, and cyberspace law committee chair for the American Bar Association told The Defender that computer chipped clothing is likely going to be used for something more sinister than monitoring your health.
Claypoole stated the development of the fabrics ‘’Is not just for keeping people safe, but also for finding and following smart fabric wearers who do not know they are being followed.’’
Claypool co-authored a book, Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Recognizing Threats, defending your rights and Protecting Your Family, where he traced back efforts to create smart clothing for nearly a decade.
He pointed to examples like ski jackets with air pods built into the hoods that connect to your phone via Bluetooth technology as convenient, but worrisome as they were developed by the intelligent community.
W. Scott McCullough, lawyer for the Children Health Defense’s Electromagnetic radiation cases, shares Claypoole’s concern.
McCullough issued a statement saying, ‘’While the person choosing to wear the computerized clothing at least has given some consent, all those around that person have no say at all. I question whether any of this is legal. This technology will gather biometric data from those nearby, as well as capture audio and visual data. These are states where all party consent is required for this."
IARPA has responded to the criticism. Spokesperson Nicole De Hayy told The Intercept, ‘’IARPA performs civil liberties and privacy protection compliance reviews throughout our research efforts.’’ IARPA had no further elaboration on if they could ensure that citizens privacy would not be breached.
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