Service of Microchips for Humans
April 24th, 2017
Categories: Technology
I’m too chicken to pierce my ears yet I’d consider getting a microchip implanted under the skin of one of my hands.
Charles Osgood [photo center, below] spoke about microchips in people on The Osgood File. He said they had potential for use by buildings that use access keycard IDs; to open office doors and unlock smartphones. Magic happens with a swipe of a hand. “All of this information may be reduced to a microchip about the size of a grain of rice,” he said on the radio. The result is a reduction of cards, keys and time spent now to punch in or activate codes that open a bunch of things.
Osgood’s news colleague John Blackstone reported that volunteers in a building in Stockholm are already using the chip. Blackstone said: “The microchips are Radio Frequency Identification Tags – the same technology widely used in things like keycards. The chips have been implanted in animals for years to help identify lost pets. Now, the technology is moving to humans.”
We must kneel on the floor to unlock the door to our office [see photo at left]. Think how much easier a swipe of the hand would be, were the appropriate access keycard ID installed.
One of the volunteers who appreciates the convenience calls himself a “biohacker.” He warned: “It’s very easy to hack a chip implant – so my advice is don’t put your life secrets on a chip implant.”
According to Osgood, Ian Shore, executive editor at CNET, objected to the “nonstop potential connection to my body. I can’t turn it off, I can’t put it away, it’s in me. That’s a big problem.”
Blackstone added: “But biohackers also predict the next generation of chips will save lives by monitoring health and fitness. For now, ‘being chipped’ means never having to say you’re sorry you forgot your keycard.”
I’d not want to be one of the first for this mini operation. I’d want to see if there was a rash of people hacking off hands to get access to a person’s office, bank account, smartphone etc. Mr. Osgood didn’t mention this. Admittedly I watch too many episodes of “Blue Bloods,” and “Law and Order SVU” but I also imagine the chips will be handy in law enforcement. Think of yourself locked in the trunk of a car driven by a thief and how the chip might help the police find you.
Would you consider having a microchip installed under your skin? What do you predict the pros and cons to be?
Tags: access keycard ID, Charles Osgood, John Blackstone, The Osgood File
Plus side: Ease of shopping and banking and commuting.
Big down side: drug and crack crazed morons, chopping off your hand to get quick access to your chip! In this crazy world, it’s not out of the question!
Hank,
I thought of the chopping off of hand possibility too. And then the person would have your fingerprint as well. UGH. Back to the drawing boards!
Definitely not for me…I even refuse to bank online. I can only imagine a microchip under my skin. Also, am prone to eczema, and I don’t misplace my keys so often that I would worry about getting into my apartment. Thinking “Manchurian Candidate”-type thoughts…instead of a deck of playing cards, this is even more insidious, and all in the name of convenience.
NO. It gives too much power to unknown entities. We were not built to be tracked.
Playing the devil’s advocate, a microchip would be priceless when finding abductees. However, over 99% of the population is not kidnapped, so this NO vote remains.
ASK,
I don’t bank online either. I carry pounds of keys. I crawl on the floor to lock and unlock the office door if I’m the first or last one there. And I would lose you in my handbag if you were in it so that I am constantly sorting through it for keys.
As I’ve written, potentially losing a hand gives me pause. Maybe my chip would have a tatooed note above it that said: “Only opens front doors.” [But that would hurt!]
Lucrezia,
As I wrote, I, too envision someone in the trunk of a car for whatever reason and if a child were taken for ransom or in a custody fight the chip sure would be a help in recovery!
My grandfather, according to my mother, supposedly forbid his children to drink Coca Cola because his friend, the son of the creator of its formula, told him the stuff was poisonous. The son also supposedly, forbade his children drink Coke. A century later, most of us know about the damage soft drinks do; Coca Cola sales are way off, and, according to the papers, the company is turning itself into a “water” company. The fathers were right.
I’ve heard enough about invasion of privacy computer issues from people who ought to know, to be decidedly frightened by what these machines can do. No way am I going anywhere near any chips!
hb,
Your Coke story resembles the history of cigarettes which have long been known as a dangerous addiction.
Sounds as though the comments on the subject here are unanimous. Unless there’s a way to protect a person’s privacy–and hand–there are no volunteers!