News

IBM: ATMs will soon be able to read your mind

December 19, 2011

IBM has released its sixth-annual "IBM 5 in 5" list, a list of technology predictions that is fodder for both enthusiastic futurists and skeptics.

Especially notable is the prediction that in the future, consumers will never need to remember or use a password:

Your biological makeup is the key to your individual identity, and soon, it will become the key to safeguarding it.

You will no longer need to create, track or remember multiple passwords for various log-ins. Imagine you will be able to walk up to an ATM machine [sic] to securely withdraw money by simply speaking your name or looking into a tiny sensor that can recognize the unique patterns in the retina of your eye. Or by doing the same, you can check your account balance on your mobile phone or tablet.

Each person has a unique biological identity and behind all that is data. Biometric data – facial definitions, retinal scans and voice files – will be composited through software to build your DNA unique online password.

Cue the privacy advocates and Illuminati conspiracy theorists ... and see the full list of five in the video below: