I just read this article about how the 2008 Summer Olympics are going to be a “High-tech” Olympics. According to the article:
One of the three themes of the Beijing Olympics is to make it a “high-tech Olympics.” According to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), the event will incorporate “the latest domestic and international scientific and technological achievements” and serve as “a window to showcase the city’s high-tech achievements and its innovative strength.” With a published operating budget of US$2 billion, BOCOG has estimated the technology portion of the budget at over $400 million for 449 science and technology projects, although it has not delineated what those projects are.
It’s too bad most of the technology projects aren’t really going to be for the consumers of the Olympics. When I first read the article, I thought the high-tech advances were going to be for visitors of the Olympics and for the fans. Unfortunately, it seems most of the “high-tech” aspects of the Olympics will be used for government surveillance and other government projects.
