10.15.99
I Smell Trouble
Oct 15 Fri (01 PM)
Funny image of the entry: <http://www.ordersomewherechaos.com/rosso/articles/1999/angel/angel.jpg>
There’s been a bit of a buzz about this new <http://www.digiscents.com/> technology. (Warning: do not go there without a highspeed connection. There’s at least 30 graphics on the front page alone. This FAQ page is better: <http://www.digiscents.com/insidedigiscents/article_faq.htm> )
The gist of the story is that this company is supposedly building a device that can produce smells and aromas on demand. There’s been a number of stories written about it, one in particular from Salon: <http://www.salon.com/tech/log/1999/10/14/digiscents/index.html>
My question is the potential for abuse. The sense of smell (and taste) are dependent upon actual molecules of chemicals landing on receptors in your nose (or tastebuds on your tongue). This Digiscents must actually be combining source materials to make the necessary molecules.
Now imagine you knew that someone had a specific alergy. You write up a ‘smell descriptor’ that produces a chemical that contains all the elements of say ‘wild flower pollen’, and send the description in an e-mail. The victim reads the mail, the iScent creator kicks in and then – surprise – “You’ve got Hives!’
But why stop there. It’s pretty easy to make up numerous noxious and toxic fumes using common chemicals. Just figure out what’s necessary and you can flood the area around a work station with potentially dangerous if not life threatening chemicals.
I know there’s always going to be good and bad attributes of new technologies, but I’m not sure I want automated chemical synthisis built into my computer.