MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Managing the Human Risks of Biometric Applications

The intimate surveillance afforded by biometric technologies requires managers to consider negative impacts on privacy and human dignity.

In April, Colorado became the first state to mandate that companies protect the privacy of data generated from a person’s brain waves, an action spurred by concerns over the commercial use of wearable devices intended to monitor users’ brain activity. Use of those and other devices that enable the collection of humans’ physiological data warrants robust discussion of the legal and moral implications of the increasing surveillance and datafication of people’s lives.

Biometric technologies measure intimate body characteristics or behaviors, such as fingerprints, retinas, facial structure, vein patterns, speech, breathing patterns, brainwaves, gait, keystroke patterns, and other movements. While much activity in the field has focused on authenticating individuals’ identities in security applications, some biometric technologies are touted as offering deeper insights into humans’ states of mind and behaviors. It’s when these biometric capabilities are put into play that companies may endanger consumers’ trust.

About the Author

Andrew Park is an assistant professor of information systems at the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria. Jayson Killoran is a doctoral candidate at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Jan Kietzmann is a professor of innovation and information systems at the Gustavson School of Business.

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