There is a growing concern in Australia about rights of individuals. The government wants to get legislation through parliament prior to Christmas that will enable the powers that be to be able to shoot to kill if someone runs away that they are trying to apprehend.

This is not only about rights though. It is about identity. If we could feel safe that when we say we are who we are, we would be believed, some of this paranoia would go away. However, we have seen recently from the killing of the Brazilian man in London who was thought to be a terrorist, that in the adrenalin rush and the lack of precise knowledge about people - particularly those who have a different 'look' to ourselves - that people can be wrongly identified and pursued and killed.

The real concern is how to clearly be able to communicate to others - particularly anyone with a gun in their hand, but others too, that we are who we say we are. There is an implicit need to develop social and technological tools that will enable this.

Where will these tools come from? How can we be sure that they will help us prevent identity theft, prevent incorrect identification....?