Stanton Kaye: Father of Reinvention

In 2006, EPCglobal, the nonprofit trade body that sets uniform technical standards for bar codes and RFIDs, held a trade show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. A lead speaker was Elizabeth Board, EPC's executive director of public policy, who decried what she called "the scaremongering tactics of a few who say GPC is about tracking individuals." She likened some states' efforts to require stores to post entry signs warning shoppers of their use of RFID tags to a 7-Eleven being forced to post a placard announcing that bar codes appear on its merchandise. Board noted with satisfaction that her group's lobbying efforts have slowed down anti-RFID legislation during the past two years, although she anticipated a growing battle in Europe.

Board and the RFID industry as a whole probably know that public concerns regarding the tracking of tag-bearers and the potential for outsiders to hack into them must be addressed if RFID is to be accepted as quickly as bar codes were. The RFID industry is reluctantly considering offering consumers the option of "killing" tags at the store upon purchase so they can function only long enough to serve as proofs of purchase. But will everyone remember to exercise his or her freedom from information?

Ted Soqui

Stanton Kaye

The right stuff? Scott Glenn in the future, circa 1970

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More About

• Stanton Kaye
• American Film Institute
• Terry Myers
• Wireless Technology
• Science and Technology

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* Editor's Note:An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Jay Silverhels as a Mohican. He is part of the Mohawk tribe.