This latest news concerning the Amazon One palm reader is nothing new in terms of their efforts in utilizing our hands as a payment option. Around this time in 2019, I wrote an article about tests Amazon was undergoing at various Whole Foods stores with their hand scanning technology they were developing at the time. I later posted another article in January of this year that further expounded on their efforts to go beyond just the Whole Foods stores by integrating themselves into various areas of their consumer’s lives.
The purpose of this article – like the other ones – isn’t to claim that this technology is the mark of the beast as mentioned in Revelation 13:16-17, but my purpose is instead to state that technology such as this may very well be leading to that biblical reality. It’s always important to note that technology in and of itself isn’t “bad” but that people can use it for nefarious purposes which is the point of the article in reference to what we’re told is coming in Revelation.
It may also serve as a means of getting people comfortable with this type of system (i.e. paying with your hand) before its ultimate fulfillment during the tribulation. Already this year we’ve seen the quantum-dot tattoos as well as Google’s “SkinMarks” that’s caused some to raise an eyebrow. In my opinion, these various technologies and the growing move towards this type of system serves to show how close the tribulation period is.
Amazon introduces ability to pay with your hands
From Fox Business: Instead of using a credit card or smartphone to pay for your goods, Amazon wants you to use your hands. In a blog post, the company unveiled its own palm recognition technology, known as Amazon One. The technology, first rolling out in Amazon’s home market of Seattle, will use people’s palms to identify them and combine that with details of the palm, such as lines and ridges, to build a “palm signature.”
“In most retail environments, Amazon One could become an alternate payment or loyalty card option with a device at the checkout counter next to a traditional point of sale system,” Dilip Kumar, vice president, Amazon Physical Retail, wrote in the post. “Or, for entering a location like a stadium or badging into work, Amazon One could be part of an existing entry point to make accessing the location quicker and easier.”
In addition to the trial in the company’s Go stores in Seattle, starting today, Kumar added that Amazon One will come to other Amazon stores and will be used for more than just paying with your palm. “[W]e believe Amazon One has broad applicability beyond our retail stores, so we also plan to offer the service to third parties like retailers, stadiums, and office buildings so that more people can benefit from this ease and convenience in more places,” Kumar added. “Interested third parties can reach out through the email address provided on our Amazon One website.”
Though Amazon has introduced other ways to pay for goods at its physical stores, including the use of cameras and an app linked to your Amazon account, Kumar explained palm recognition offers another level of privacy.
“We selected palm recognition for a few important reasons,” the exec wrote. “One reason was that palm recognition is considered more private than some biometric alternatives because you can’t determine a person’s identity by looking at an image of their palm. It also requires someone to make an intentional gesture by holding their palm over the device to use. And it’s contactless, which we think customers will appreciate, especially in current times. Ultimately, using a palm as a biometric identifier puts customers in control of when and where they use the service.” Read More
Amazon sees broad audience for its palm recognition tech
From AP News: Amazon has introduced new palm recognition technology in a pair of Seattle stores and sees a broader potential audience in stadiums, offices and other gated or secured locations. Customers at the stores near Amazon’s campus in Washington can flash a palm for entry into secured areas and buy goods.
The company chose palm recognition, according to Dilip Kumar, vice president of Physical Retail & Technology, because it’s more private than other biometric technology, and a person would be required to purposefully flash a palm at the Amazon One device to engage.
“And it’s contactless, which we think customers will appreciate, especially in current times,” Kumar wrote in a blog post Tuesday. Like the human fingerprint, every palm is unique. Unlike fingerprints, the palm is not used for broader identification purposes because more body specific information is needed. Any palm image proffered for use is never stored on the Amazon One device, the company said, for security reasons.
The data is encrypted in a secured sector of the cloud that was custom built by Amazon, and customers can also delete their Amazon One-related data permanently at any time. The company expects to roll out Amazon One as an option in other Amazon stores in the coming months, which could mean Whole Foods Market grocery stores. But Amazon believes the technology is applicable in a myriad of secured locations.
For now, the technology is being used only at two Amazon Go stores. Amazon Go is the company’s first cashier-less supermarket, introduced earlier this year, where shoppers can grab milk or eggs and walk out without waiting in line or ever opening their wallets. Read More
Prophetic Implications
To reiterate, I do not believe this technology is the mark of the beast. From scripture, we’re clearly given the context as to when the mark of the beast will come to ultimate fruition – during the 7 year tribulation. Before the tribulation even starts, the antichrist must first be revealed and confirm a covenant for a “week” (7 years). I go into depth on this point in my first article on the tribulation here.
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)
Until the “beast” himself shows up on the world stage, there will be no “mark of the beast”. However, as we see technology and systems that seem to resemble it become more prominent in our time, it should show us how close this portion of the bible is to being fulfilled, and even closer, the rapture of the church.
Sources
- Amazon introduces ability to pay with your hands (Fox Business) – September 28th, 2020
- Amazon sees broad audience for its palm recognition tech (AP News) – September 29th, 2020