Bruce Sterling on RFID tags and recycling
Alex Steffen, 2 Jun 06
From an interview with the Guardian, in which Bruce explains the origins of the Viridian design movement:
[T]he key element is the identity for objects. It's putting tags on things that allow them to interact with digital networks. That is the key concept around which other things accrue. My goal in this is sustainability. I want us to invent a better way to put our toys away. We are emitting too much junk. Google is good at sorting garbage. We could do something similar if we tagged our garbage, basically, everything we make.
Ideally, we need to tag an object before it exists. We need to tag the blueprints and then the manufactured object. Then, when it's junk, we need to read it, know where it goes, have it ripped apart and recycled.
My bet: the EU is going to be the first to do this. It's going to require all products that come into the Union to be tagged. That's the force of the EU, because that way it means all producers on the planet will want to comply.
Mr Sterling: write to the people at the EU, the will like your idea.
Posted by: Lorenzo on 2 Jun 06
Here in US we are a bit more humanitarian: instead objects, we'll get started with people (or almost-people): criminals, Arabs, Muslins, blacks and suspects in general.
Posted by: Broker on 5 Jun 06
