Abstract
This essay contributes an extended view on user information inferred by personal devices to motivate applications of biometrics beyond user identification. We unfold a new design space in two parts: First, we take inspiration from the shared focus on individuality in both biometrics and Belk's Extended Self (ES[1]). ES describes that people use (digital) objects to define and reflect on their identities. Following this, we propose that personal devices can use biometrics to assess individual user attributes and behaviour for three application areas related to the core aspects of ES: privacy and security (Having), UI personalisation (Doing), digital self-presentation (Being). Second, we propose to view biometrics as part of a larger class of Implicit Information. Such information is inferred from interactions and sensors to be used across these application domains. We discuss implications and limitations of this view.
About the author
Daniel Buschek, M.Sc., graduated with a Master's degree in Media Informatics from the University of Munich in 2013. His studies focused on machine learning for mobile touch devices, including an internship at the University of Glasgow, and work as a research assistant at the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology. Since 2014, he is a Doctoral researcher in the Media Informatics group at the University of Munich, with particular interest in user-specific behaviour evident in interactions with mobile touch devices.
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Media Informatics Group, Amalienstrasse 17, 80333 München, Germany
©2016 Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
