The Private against the Public?

"The multiple human needs and desires that demand privacy
among two or more people in the midst of social life must
inevitably lead to cryptology wherever men thrive
and wherever they write."

David Kahn, The Codebreakers

In the age of the vitreous man, whose data are not only collected by different institutions but kept under disclosure, out of reach, uncontrollable and unmanageable for the individual, privacy obtains new importance, receives a much higher value again.
The irony behind is that those who long for cryptography in order to preserve more privacy actually have to trust the same people who first created the methods to "produce" something like that vitreous man; of course not the same individual but persons of the same area of science. It is the reign of experts.
So far about self-determination.

for a rather aesthetic view on privacy and cryptography see:
http://www.t0.or.at/franck/d_franck.htm

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Implant technology

Kevin Warwick at the University of Reading works on implant technologies which could enhance or modify functions of the limbs and the brain, or bring back functionalities lost, for example, in an accident or as a consequence of a stroke. Implants are also used for identification in "intelligent buildings" where they serve to control "personnel flows". However, the real potential of electronic implants seems to lie in the field of electronic drugs. The basics of the brain computer interface are already explored, and there are now efforts to electronically modify the function of the mind. Large software and IT companies are sponsoring this research which could result in the commercialisation of electronic drugs, functioning as anti-depressants, pain killers and the like. Evidently, the same technologies can also be used as narcotic drugs or to modify people's behaviour. The functioning of body and mind can be adapted to pre-defined principles and ideals, their autonomous existence reduced and subjected to direct outside control.

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1970s: Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM)

Since the 1970s there had been a growing trend towards the use of computer programs in manufacturing companies. Especially functions related to design and production, but also business functions should be facilitated through the use of computers.

Accordingly the CAD/CAM technology, related to the use of computer systems for design and production, was developed. CAD (computer-aided design) was created to assist in the creation, modification, analysis, and optimization of design. CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) was designed to help with the planning, control, and management of production operations. CAD/CAM technology, since the 1970s, has been applied in many industries, including machined components, electronics products, equipment design and fabrication for chemical processing.

To enable a more comprehensive use of computers in firms the CIM (computer-integrated manufacturing) technology, which also includes applications concerning the business functions of companies, was created. CIM systems can handle order entry, cost accounting, customer billing and employee time records and payroll. The scope of CIM technology includes all activities that are concerned with production. Therefore in many ways CIM represents the highest level of automation in manufacturing.

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Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was the head of the NSdAP, the National Socialist Workers' Party. Originally coming from Austria, he started his political career in Germany. As the Reichskanzler of Germany he provoked World War II. His hatred against all non-Aryans and people thinking in a different way killed millions of human beings. Disinformation about his personality and an unbelievable machinery of propaganda made an entire people close its eyes to the most cruel crimes on human kind.

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Mark

A mark (trademark or service mark) is "... a sign, or a combination of signs, capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. The sign may particularly consist of one or more distinctive words, letters, numbers, drawings or pictures, emblems, colors or combinations of colors, or may be three-dimensional..." (WIPO) To be protected a mark must be registered in a government office whereby generally the duration is limited in time, but can be periodically (usually every 10 years) renewed.

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Adi Shamir

Adi Shamir was one of three persons in a team to invent the RSA public-key cryptosystem. The other two authors were Ron Rivest and Leonard M. Adleman.

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