Future Shock: Voice Recognition Identification Technology
Background: Kay Hughes, flight attendant for today’s nonstop coast-to-coast flight, is busy reviewing your catering order and preparing the cabin. Bob Harmon is the captain and Jeff Mortowski is his first mate. Both are located in the cockpit and review the pre-flight checklist. The passengers are from various companies in the New York area or individuals for personal reasons who have purchased seats on their flight.
The history: Kay awoke with a start when the alarm on her clock radio sounded. Reaching for the pillow, she noted the time, 5:15, and hit the snooze button in hopes of getting another five minutes of sleep. Tired as she was, her mind began to race as she considered the day ahead. In less than four hours he would be en route to Los Angeles with a plane full of passengers. Little by little, the idea of getting more sleep became less important as he considered everything he had to do before leaving Teterboro. Silently, she changed into her robe and slippers, poured herself a cup of coffee, and stepped into the shower.
As Kay walked down the runway, she saw the fuel truck approach her plane and the caterer at the gate waiting for a security clearance. It was 6:48 a.m. and I could already feel the heat peeling off the pavement. Another scorcher, he thought; at least LA will be colder.
Kay greeted Jeff who was busy supervising the fuel delivery; He then climbed aboard the GV and gave a similar salute to Bob, who was busy updating paperwork. Bob finished what he was doing and informed Kay with the schedule for the day. Minutes later, Kay turned to help the vendor who was approaching with the day’s order. After an hour the first of the passengers began to arrive. Each sat in the FBO lobby waiting to be approached. At exactly 8:00 am, Kay left the plane and went down the ramp to the FBO. He whispered to the waiting security agent, who directed the FBO customer service representative to make the shipment announcement. “Ladies and gentlemen, Jet Aviation Flight # 001 leaving TEB for LAX is already boarding. Please present your identification card and boarding pass to the security agent. Once cleared, you will be boarded Thank you for flying Jet Aviation and enjoy your flight. “
Kay turned around, left the FBO, and went back to the plane. Both pilots were on board completing their pre-flight preparations. Kay stood at the foot of the steps leading to the plane waiting for the security officer to bring the passengers onto the plane. He knew that with fourteen passengers the security clearance would take a little longer than normal.
Kay considered waiting inside the cabin to keep cool, but knew it was important to greet passengers at the base of the steps in case one of them needed help climbing. It must already be 85 degrees here, he thought. as he watched the heat fumes rise from the pavement.
After what seemed like an excessive delay (Kay’s hair was slowly losing style in the heat), Bob poked his head around the booth and said, “Sorry about the delay, but we caught another one.” Surprised, Kay stammered, “You mean one of the passengers missed security clearance?” Bob replied, “Not only that, but he’s on the FBI’s wanted list of terrorism suspects. The remaining passengers left well, but we’ll delay until the agents finish interviewing them to see if they know the guy.” Despite the heat, Kay shuddered at the thought of the possible chain of events a terrorist could unleash on board the plane.
Her fears gradually subsided when Jeff reminded her that the VOICE RECOGNITION IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY (VRIT) unit at the FBO was perfect in almost six months of use. During that time, twenty-six persons with a criminal element were arrested, most of whom had previously been charged with minor offenses. [such as tax evasion] and they were fleeing or would be in violation of their parole restrictions if they had left the state. Today marked the first time that a suspected terrorist was caught and as the sirens of the patrol cars sounded, Kay knew that that day would be anything but normal.
The above account is fiction, but it does presuppose a couple of things that could happen in the intervening years that would produce similar results, that is, additional and more widespread terrorist attacks as a primary consideration. Also, there would have to be a change in the way we do business, that is, selling seats to people instead of selling the entire flight to one company or one person; he would no longer have a lead passenger who could identify everyone else. passengers. VRIT is now within your grasp and will most likely become the norm of the day. Basically, it works like this: a person speaks into a device that immediately matches the speech pattern to one in the database. The database identifies the person and when a match is made, the person is deleted [unless the database turns up a warrant for their arrest].
Naturally, to get on board a flight, we would need the passengers to be part of that database. This could happen if VRIT becomes as mandatory as having a social security number or a driver’s license. Foreign citizens would have to be connected to the same system for it to work, so the potential for an Orwellian-type system around the world would be great.
Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with Russ Cooper, Managing Partner of COMPUTEK, a Wall Street company that has developed the latest generation of VRIT. He shared with me that both the FBI and CIA use an older generation of VRIT and that his company is marketing the current one. The potential for your customer base is impressive: government agencies, security companies, airports, airliners, car manufacturers, you name it. Whenever a positive identification of a person is needed, their technology can be used.
According to Russ, the technology is fail-safe. When I mentioned that a voice impersonator like a Richard Little guy could sneak out, he claimed that VRIT would still know who he was even with the “Richard Nixon” voice. Apparently, the voice patterns are distinguishable even when in disguise.
We are not talking about “price”, as you were not marketing your product to me directly. I can only imagine that the costs involved would be significant, but then I began to think that they could possibly be offset by lower insurance premiums if insurance companies see the benefit of “ensuring” passenger safety.
So what role could the flight attendant play in using VRIT? Maybe instead of a security officer [especially in out of the way places like Bozeman, Montana], a VRIT unit would be assigned to your aircraft, much like a cardiac defibrillator monitor, and you would greet each passenger as they board the aircraft. Before the aircraft could be cleared for takeoff, passengers would speak into the portable VRIT and receive a security clearance on the spot.
Let’s go back to our story and modify it with the security check that is placed directly in the hands of the flight attendant:
Kay walked down the steps of the GV with her mobile VRIT device and waited for the passengers to exit the FBO and head to the plane. She announced, “Welcome aboard Jet Aviation Flight # 001 to Los Angeles. Please state your name on the VRIT unit. Once cleared, you can proceed through the steps. The First Officer will take your card boarding and possibly seated. If you need additional assistance, the captain will be happy to assist you. “
One by one, the passengers passed, declaring their names and waiting for the green authorization light to flash. As they spoke, a signal was transferred to an orbiting satellite and then transmitted to VRIT headquarters in Washington, DC. As the last of the passengers approached, Kay continued greeting each one and waiting for clearance. Finally, when all the passengers were cleared, he climbed the steps and had both pilots speak in the VRIT unit. Finally, Kay placed the unit in the hands of the first officer to let her pass. Kay cleared her throat, spoke her name, but after a long pause, the VRIT beeped in red. The color on Kay’s face faded and she turned to flee. In moments, several arms reached out to apprehend her as sirens howled in the background.
All he could think about was running away …
Surprised, Kay woke up from her sleep when the snooze alarm went off.