'Today, humankind has the science and technology to destroy itself or to provide prosperity to all," Tony Blair told his party conference in Brighton on Tuesday. That conference saw Labour struggling to decide whether IT is about providing wealth and freedom, a tool for preventing destruction - or part of the threat.
Earlier, the home office minister, Jeff Rooker, had reassured a Charter 88 fringe meeting that there was no pre-existing plan to implement identity cards. He added that cards would be a medium-term project if they happened. But he then said that biometric techniques such as iris scanners would be the technology to use.
"If you can't link the card to the person, it would be wide open to mass forgery," he argued. "If you don't have a biometric connection, it wouldn't work."
Lord Rooker emphasised plans were at an early stage, but he dismissed using DNA samples to confirm identity. He added that he would like to carry a card: "I want the right to assert my identity. I don't give a bugger who asks me."
Last year, Labour was inspired by IT's possibilities - and not primarily for surveillance. Then, Tony Blair announced cheap computers for the poor and "e-minister" Patricia Hewitt appeared at numerous fringe meetings, evangelising for e-government. IBM and Vodafone took stands in the exhibition and software firm Oracle advertised on the bridge connecting the two main conference sites.
Not this year. Hewitt, now promoted to DTI Minister, used her speech to concentrate on manufacturing and the minimum wage. Her few mentions of IT included a software firm the government helped save, and high-tech manufacturers, such as Motorola, that it didn't. Her successor as e-commerce minister, Douglas Alexander, took a lower profile.
In the wake of September 11, some suggest that under-controlled online encryption provides secure communications for terrorists. Finance minister Lord Sainsbury had limited reassurance.
"We didn't introduce the rather draconian views which were first put forward," he told Tuesday's parliamentary IT committee fringe meeting, referring to early Conservative drafted versions of the Regulations of Investigatory Powers Act, the law controlling encryption use. He added: "Clearly it is a subject that will be looked at again. But we're very conscious that you must do things that won't damage the IT industry." In an echo of last year's optimism, he called on tech firms to maintain spending on research. This year, it is so the UK can do well when the economic downturn ends.
The Hansard Society presented a Mori survey of 2,000 people on how politicians should respond to the web. The most popular suggestions were online MPs' surgeries (39%), and MPs with email addresses (32%). This appetite was higher among the under-25s, who were also keen on voting on line.
Dr Stephen Coleman, the society's director of E-Democracy, described the web as "the dominant communication channel for the people who didn't vote in the last election. There's a high level of interest from the public for interactivity", urging Labour to use the web for encouraging this feedback. "Otherwise it becomes an impoverished version of broadcasting."
In his speech, Blair said the internet and information technology were examples of globalisation, to be harnessed for the good of society. As with globalisation, some will worry about authoritarian overtones in Labour's approach to IT.
