“I can see all kinds of problems coming if we bring in this new horseless carriage. They call it a car. Or an auto. Whatever they call it, it means trouble. First of all, crooks will use it. They’ll rob a bank and run off in this machine. And nobody will be able to catch them. Then there’s ...” I guess you get the gist.

All new inventions are double-edged. They can be good for us, or bad. This depends, of course, on who is using them and for what.

I thought of that this week when I read a story about some software that Microsoft is working on. It will remotely monitor a person’s physical well-being. Through wireless sensors within the computer system.

The story was written by a couple journalists who wore dark lenses and saw only evil in the software. They called it “Big-Brother-style software” in the first sentence.

The system would check employees’ performance. By measuring heart rates, body temperatures, movements, facial expressions and blood pressure.

The sensors could detect changes in the skin, brain, respiration rates, body temperature. This would tell managers if employees were suffering stress. Or goofing off. Or having sex in the Oval Office, etc.

The outlook is bleak for us. At least that is the angle these guys took. They said labor unions fear workers could get axed if the system caught them napping.