Amazon has created a new way for customers to make purchases with just their palm.The new hand recognition technology called “Amazon One” is currently available in two of its Amazon Go stores located in Seattle, Washington. By holding their palm above the device, patrons can enter secure areas and pay for items without cash or credit card.
Like fingerprints, every palm is unique and Amazon contends the data will be secured, stored in a special cloud created by Amazon, and that customers can wipe out their Amazon One-related hand data at any time. The company expects to roll out the system in other Amazon stores in the months ahead including Whole Foods grocery stores, which it owns.
The world’s largest online retailer believes the palm technology could be used for many other types of purchases and transactions like retail stores, stadiums, and office buildings, touting the fact that its process is “touchless” which makes it perfect for avoiding diseases like COVID.
A Twitter user responder to the news, “I’m so NOT a conspiracy theorist & I left my fire-&-brimstone childhood behind a long time ago, but Amazon One, where you hold your palm over a scanner to pay, is straight-up 666, y’all. The Bible Belt pulpits are gonna eat this up.”
Some Christians say body scanning like this is another step toward the fulfillment of the End Times “Mark of the Beast” prophesied 2,000 years ago in the biblical book of Revelation.
“It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.”- Revelation 13: 16-17.
Others worry about the harmful impact these technological advancements can have on the way we discern good from evil or how to follow our moral compass. Omar N. Bradley, a commander during WWII, once warned, “If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.”