Google announced the introduction of "passkeys" technology, which allows users to easily log in to apps or sites without entering a password. Password-based authentication has been the standard for decades, but it poses serious security risks as attackers can steal user passwords or trick users into providing their passwords through phishing attacks. Passkey systems, in contrast, are designed to enable access to encrypted keys stored on devices through face recognition, fingerprint scanning, or screen lock PINs, making them a symbol of the "end of the password era."

However, applying this technology to 4.3 billion Google users worldwide, as of 2021, is not just about cybersecurity advancement. It is significant as it accelerates a major shift in perception and real-world application of "human bodies" as digital authentication tools. Integrating individual's unique physical characteristics into data management is a technological achievement, but it is also crucial to consider how it creates a foundation for the power to control individuals indiscreetly in the real world as their physical selves become digital symbols.

In December last year, a woman in Iran was working at an indoor amusement park when a picture of her without a hijab was spread on social media, leading to the park's closure and subsequent investigation by the prosecution. An official of an Iranian government agency revealed in an interview with local media that the country's national identity database and facial recognition technology could be used to identify individuals and impose fines or arrests "to identify inappropriate and abnormal movements." Stephen Feldstein, a former US State Department surveillance expert, revealed in his book "The Rise of Digital Repression" that, after investigating 179 countries over eight years, 61 countries use facial recognition technology, making it the most widely used digital surveillance technology.

Therefore, it is necessary to question the value of future technologies that attempt to directly control the human body in two contexts. First, how can it enhance and expand individual capabilities? Second, in the larger context of globalization, digitalization, and hyper-capitalism, how can the meaning of the individual's body be transformed?

Paradoxically, the only criterion that can answer these questions is "the uniqueness of the human body." The body's sensory capabilities allow it to be exposed to new situations and repeat similar ones, enabling the comprehensive perception of the world and the development of adaptability and knowledge. Philosopher Michael Polanyi's statement that "we know more than we can tell" confirms that human knowledge is not only immeasurable, but also dynamic and contextual, something that machines cannot understand.

Humans experience happiness by deciding to laugh even in a depressing situation, and they alleviate anxiety by moving their bodies and walking. Learning through the body provides an intense experience that transcends imagination or cognition, affecting people's perceptions and attitudes. American roboticist Hans Moravec acknowledged the paradox that while computers can beat humans at chess or analyze data faster than the best mathematicians, their relatively low levels of "perception" and "manipulation with hands" show no signs of robots approaching human capabilities.

The human body is increasingly becoming part of the domain of data. As science philosopher Donna Haraway and other cultural theorists declared in the late 1990s, the cyborgization of modern humans is in full swing. Technology is getting closer to our bodies and skin, promising a "better human" while simultaneously creating dependence on new devices, granting unprecedented access to technology for everyday behavior and relationships. Therefore, it is important to implement safeguards to protect individual privacy and prevent potential misuse of technology. It is also important to consider the potential impact of using the human body as a digital authentication tool, namely the risk of diminishing human subjectivity and autonomy.

We often talk and hear about machines and artificial intelligence permanently changing the world. However, we need to remember that this is why the physical embodiment through our bodies makes it difficult to replicate human intelligence.

We need to be more instinctive and less intellectual, and we need to go out into the world and experience more with our bodies and senses. By doing so, we will be able to better recognize the uniqueness of the human body and understand our own importance as human beings in a world that is becoming increasingly digital.

*This article is the original content from the ETNews Columnpublished on May 8, 2023.

References

‘The Beginning of the End of Passwords’…Google Introduces Passkeys

Iran Says Face Recognition Will ID Women Breaking Hijab Laws

The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance

Polanyi’s Paradox

Power Of Not Thinking⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠