Soctech seminar, Spring 2007

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Revision as of 19:21, 8 March 2007 by Evan (talk | contribs) (Seminar Organization)

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Spring 2007: Case study: ORCA cards: SLN 11994 CSE 590 T, Tuesday 12:30-1:20, CSE 303
Non-CSE students (including law) should register for the graded CSE 590 X - SLN 11981. Everything else is identical. Email travis (at cs.washington.edu) for an add code.

In the past few years there has been more and more talk, both positive and negative, about the transformative potential of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology as it gets more and more viable. In a previous seminar, we explored the broader legal and sociopolitical implications of RFID, discussing privacy, security, and surveillance through conversations with invited RFID experts and enthusiasts each week. We have drafted an unfinished whitepaper based on our discussions during that quarter.

During the fall quarter we are going to try something different: focus on a single, about-to-be-deployed technology in the Seattle region, specifically the ORCA card. We will then have the opportunity to discuss identity management, security, and surveillance issues with university and government. The goal is to engage in a dialogue with stakeholders that greatly influence the impact of technology on society but with whom we do not typically get to interact with as academics. As the new RFID-enabled ORCA husky card is not due to be deployed to students until 2008, our conversations with stakeholders may impact the conditions under which the card will be deployed.

Participation in the Fall 2006 soctech seminar is not a prerequisite for this seminar. We will begin the seminar with a technical overview of the capabilities of RFID, the regulatory landscape on which laws will be crafted, and a number of existing RFID deployments. During the following weeks, we will invite a guest from a variety of organizations, including the university adminstration, Seattle public transportation agencies, law experts, legislators, and ACLU representatives.

Seminar Organization

Contact information: This course is being organized by Evan Welbourne (evan at cs), Colin Dixon (ckd at cs), Karl Koscher (supersat at cs), Jim Sfekas, Yaw Anokwa (yanokwa at cs), and Travis Kriplean (travis at cs).

The seminar will be discussion-driven, each period led by a small group of seminar participants and/or invited guests. Seminar participants will be expected to generate questions for our guest before seminar, but there won't be pressure to organize a class period.

Administrative info

Course grading and credit-load policies: Subject to change, but variable credits are available to meet differing levels of participation:

  • Sign up for 1 credit if you plan to attend, do the readings, and participate in discussions.
  • Sign up for 2 credits if you wish to organize a discussion by contacting a guest, coordinate their visit, and explaining why you chose them.
  • Sign up for 3 credits if you wish to be heavily involved in the planning process for the seminar. Contact the course organizers in advance if you plan to take this course for 3 credits.

Course Topics

Note: subject to change as we find guest speakers

27 March RFID History, Basic Technical Description and Overview of Applications

03 April

10 April

17 April

24 April

1 May

8 May

15 May

22 May

29 May

Potential Speakers

Steven Shafer, Microsoft Research

A policy for RFID Privacy, addressing personal information in RFID systems.