Project Oxygen is a proposed global Super-Internet which is based on a complex network of undersea fiber optic cables linking 174 countries at 264 landing points (SAIC). The idea of the project is to make computers human-centered and responsive to human needs rather than having people catering to expensive machines as happens now (Project). In the plan, no one would need their own personal devices such as cell phones and hand-held computers because these devices would be available everywhere for anyone to use. They would all be connected to a central data base where everyoneÆs data would be stored. As people interact with these devices, the devices will recognize the person and respond to their particular needs and to their own databases (Kewney). They will maintain personal privacy by being able to respond to the individual and only accessing their information bases using video and audio recognition technology. The system will help automate most routine tasks and there will be voice recognition systems so typing in data will no longer be necessary.
While this system no doubt has many advantages - ease of use, personalized data storage and access, security systems built in, elimination of the need to carry around communication devices, and the ability to work anywhere because of the pervasiveness of the system, it is also a little frightening to think of the abuses that could take place through such a system. For instance, a current worry for all internet users is identity theft, which affects millions of internet users annually. If all a personÆs data is available through the Oxygen system, then there is more information out there for hackers to use, and no one has yet talked about a system that cannot be hacked. Even the most secure government and military computers have had security breaches. While voice and face recognition are built into this system, there will no doubt be someone who can find a way around this t...