Former ACM Pres Voices Concerns on Pentagon's New System Former ACM president Barbara Simons told The New York Times recently that "a lot of my colleagues are uncomfortable" about the Pentagon's new computer system, known as Total Information Awareness (TIA). She said they "worry about the potential uses that this technology might be put [to], if not by this administration then by a future one." She added, "Once you’ve got it in place you can’t control it." The statement appeared in a November 9 article, "Pentagon Plans a Computer System that Would Peek at Personal Data of Americans," by John Markoff, that said the new computer system could create a vast electronic dragnet, searching for personal information as part of the hunt for terrorists around the globe -- including the United States. As a member of the Security with Privacy panel in the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that is considering proposals for possible funding activities, Simons learned of some details of the TIA program. Simons is co-chair of USACM, the public policy committee of ACM. In the November 27 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly, Simons said she doubted the TIA technology would work against terrorism, but feared it could be used to conduct massive surveillance of private information currently protected by US law. [MemberNet homepage] [Top of Page] © 2002 ACM, Inc. All rights reserved. ACM Privacy Policy.