EOTO: Total Information Awareness

In 2002, the New York Times reported that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was developing a tracking system called "Total Information Awareness" (TIA). This system was based on the idea of pulling together as much information as possible about as many people as possible into a large-scale database making information available to government officials and sorting through it to try to identify terrorists. It was able to do so through computer algorithms and human analysis detecting potential criminal activity.

This system was developed under the direction of John Poindexter who at the time was the director of DARPA's Information Awareness Office. It was intended to give access to private data to law enforcement without having to obtain a warrant or suspicions of wrongdoing. 

John Poindexter

This project utilized the "revolutionary technology for ultra-large all-source information repositories" populated by transaction data which was contained in databases. Not only could the system track government records but also individual's financial and medical records, buying habits, travel and technology history, personal and family associations and so much more. It is no wonder this program was so controversial. 

Information signature tracking was a key component of TIA. This tracked individuals by analyzing their information signatures to try to identify potential terrorist attacks. 

Another key component of TIA was to develop data-mining tools in order to sort through the vast amounts of information to uncover patterns. It also worked in the development of Project Genoa and similar search tools. It had a goal to fund the development of additional tools and data-mining technology that could help analysts understand and anticipate future actions.

An additional component of the program was the development of biometric technology which enabled the tracking and identification of individuals. DARPA's "Human ID at a Distance" program sought to utilize technologies including facial and gait recognition for identifying individuals from a distance.

There were many concerns with the program including privacy rights, potential for abuse, and even the system being ineffective. Since this program is based on speculative assumptions about how databases can be tapped to stop terrorism many individuals didn't think it would work at all.

A year later, in 2003, Congress eliminated funding for this project and closed the Pentagon's Information Awareness Office which is where TIA was developed. However, this didn't eliminate other government data-mining efforts similar to TIA. Projects including the Novel Intelligence from Massive Data within the Intelligence Community Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA) as well as the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration who are also working on data-mining projects aimed at fusing intelligence data, commercial databases, and public databases continue to evolve following the end of TIA.

This program affected everyone in society in many ways both good and bad. While TIA aimed to enhance security preventing terrorism and crime through their comprehensive data analysis, it could also lead to privacy infringements. If data was misinterpreted it could result in wrongful surveillance accusations harming trust in the government and the use of technology along with individuals themselves. It could affect people differently based on socioeconomic status. For example, if surveillance increased in lower-income communities it would be more difficult for those individuals as opposed to wealthy communities who would have better access to legal protection and ways to shield themselves from surveillance impacts.

The Total Information Awareness program showcases the complexities between national security and individual privacy. While it aims to increase public safety, its controversial methods raised significant ethical concerns resulting in the end of the program although similar initiatives still continue on.