May 1, 2005: Future Technology - Peter Cochrane
Podcast: The Art Bell ArchivePublished On: Sun Nov 16 2025
Description: Art Bell speaks with Peter Cochrane, former head of British Telecom Research, about pervasive electronic surveillance. Cochrane explains RFID technology, tiny radio chips that will replace barcodes on every product, enabling instant scanning and tracking goods from factory to consumer. He describes how shipping containers will soon carry complete histories of their contents, routes, and any tampering.The discussion turns to eroding personal privacy as cell phones continuously broadcast location data and cameras blanket British city streets. Cochrane reveals that the UK has installed over 30,000 cell sites for 60 million people, while the entire United States operates roughly 22,000, explaining the stark quality difference in mobile service. He describes emerging automotive black boxes that would record the 15 minutes before and after any accident, along with police systems capable of remotely disabling vehicles during pursuits.Art and Cochrane debate the trade-off between security and freedom, with Cochrane noting that younger generations raised under surveillance simply accept it as normal. They explore how parents track children via mobile phone GPS, how elderly monitoring systems detect deviations from daily routines, and how the convergence of phones, cameras, and computers into single devices promises convenience at the cost of autonomy.
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