Tomorrow’s Privacy Struggles, On Display Today

The thorny privacy issues of tomorrow were on display when AT&T showed off a batch of technologies under development at AT&T Labs, the company’s research arm.

Researchers showed off door handles that unlock when you tap your phone against them, or even when the device is still in your pocket, sending vibrations through your body and into your fingertips. There was a steering wheel that communicates with a GPS device and vibrates to tell you which way to turn, and an app that works with sensors in your personal possessions to tell you when you have left something behind. A number of the tools focused on taking advantage of data about a user’s location, pointing toward tensions that will very likely increase as products are developed that use mobile devices as sensors and transmitters. These issues are not necessarily about what AT&T or other companies will do with their users’ personal data — although it is clear that there will be no shortage of concerns about that, either — but potential conflicts created by tools intended for people to keep track of one another.