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One Quarter of Germans Happy To Have Chip Implants
justice4all writes "If it means shorter lines at the supermarket, a quarter of Germans would be happy to have a chip implanted under their skin. The head of Germany's main IT trade body told the audience at the opening ceremony of the CeBIT technology exhibition that one in four of his countrymen are happy to have a microchip inserted for ID purposes."
“We just carried out a survey and one out of four people are happy to have a chip planted under their skin for very trivial uses for example to pass gates more quickly at a discotheque for example and to be able to pay for things more quickly in the supermarket,” said Scheer. “The wilingness of the population to accept our technology is certainly given.”
"Bwa-haha-haha," Scheer continued. "After this, world domination will be within my grasp!"
Pie and cake were served soon afterwards.
I just don't get... eh, ugh... never mind. This post wasn't worth the research I put into it.
If you would have asked people in the 50's if they would prefer DDT sprayed on their crops to kill the insects, creating cheaper food. They would have said yes. They didn't know the consequences, and were only presented with the benefits. As is the case here. How many of those who said they would be willing fully understand the security issues associated with that choice?
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
someone snatch up the black and white movie rights.
Those tattoos and armbands were bloody handy.
OH NO, IT'S GODWINZILLA! AIEEE!
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
...much, much more than a mere 25% of Germans were quite eager to carry their era's form of identification and "go along with the crowd". /end-of-thread, Godwin invoked.
Really, I don't see any benefits in using chip implants in humans. Yes, it makes sense for cattle who can't positively identify themselves, for pets who slip out of their tags, etc.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
Yeah, I kinda figured that was the case. But for a second there I was about to be very upset that Germans had become cyborgs before we even had the option.
But now that I think of it, if they already had chip implants but only 25% were happy about it that'd be kinda disturbing. I mean why'd they get them then? Overhyped marketing claims seems plausible. Another option would be government coercion. Which then raises the question: Why didn't they design the chips to alter the recipient's mind so that they'd be happy to be chipped? Maybe they did but that feature is only 25% effective?
The enemies of Democracy are
So take anything the Germans want with a grain of salt http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE58G5GS20090917
I am having a hard time finding the original survey questions (probably for good reasons)
Even so, this smells like bullshit.
The only (apparent) quote I could find: "Jeder vierte Deutsche (23 Prozent) würde sogar einen Computerchip im Körper tragen, wenn es ihm bestimmte Vorteile verschafft"
~ "every fourth German would even carry an "Computerchip"(e.g. an integrated circuit/microprocessor) in their body if that would result in certain advantages"
Like anyone would refuse to wear a pacemaker with a integrated circuit.
References to "for identification purposes" or "under their skin" appear to be made up.
I suspect even a greater percentage of Americans would agree to be chipped. Or have their children chipped to prevent their kidnapping by the ever present child molester.
Man, I have become really cynical.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
Seriously? If we're going to be inserting something under our skin, can we at least get some super powers out of it too? I don't need to have invasive surgery to buy the latest copy of Cosmopolitan quicker. I do need to have invasive surgery to shoot fire out of the palms of my hands.
Raise your standards Germany. Have some dignity!
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
Three in four Germans are not happy with chip implants. Gotta love statistics!
I've also heard that the next generation of chips will be able to keep track of how many freedom points you have generated by working...
Oh yes, we conducted loads of research to produce our statistics, we asked a whole 12 people, three of whom we work with!
If you would have asked people in the 50's if they would prefer DDT sprayed on their crops to kill the insects, creating cheaper food. They would have said yes. They didn't know the consequences, and were only presented with the benefits. As is the case here. How many of those who said they would be willing fully understand the security issues associated with that choice?
I think people aren't completely ignorant of the implications of such a device, nor are they necessarily more likely to carry irrational beliefs that the device is safe than irrational fears of phantom threats. It doesn't matter. People will willingly sacrifice the distant risk of tyranny for day-to-day convenience, and as much as I disagree with that decision, I can't call it an irrational one.
After all, if I asked you to carry around a device that would let the government track where you are at all times with little more than a warrant, would you accept? What if that device let you find friends and family in exchange for letting them keep in touch with you? Chances are you've already got a device like this.
It's called a cell phone. As much as I hated it at the time, I got one too, years ago, essentially because of peer pressure. Now that I'm used to having it and all its features (e.g. maps and web browsing), I doubt I'd give it up. But that was a choice to sacrifice some privacy and anonymity in exchange for convenience.
I've done the same thing with credit card purchases. The grocery store doesn't need some special customer card to keep track of everything I purchase -- my credit card number suffices for any good CRM system. But it's easier than carrying cash, especially when the grocery store doubles as my ATM.
When you consider that, just how much more danger is having a chip in your arm really? What are they going to be able to track that they can't already?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
I'm a little unclear on this concept. Why exactly would I want to have an ID chip implanted in my body for that I couldn't get from one that's in my pocket?
I suppose it would make it harder to steal, lose, or forget. But really? I haven't had any of those things happen to me in over 15 years.
And sometimes, I *want* to leave my ID at home.
50% voiced strong opposition to being chipped.
The other 50% is undecided.
The undecided responded to the question with a "Meow" before returning to her nap, but since it is neither yes or no was counted as "No Opinion".
See how much fun statistics can be! Learn to manipulate public opinion for fun and profit, ask me how!
I Would Be Happy to Have an ID Chip Implant...
If I could reprogram it to identify me as anyone I wanted to and to not respond at all when I didn't want it to.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
That's mostly West Germans who don't want pay for rebuilding East Germany.
Cheap Germans? That's unpossible.
You'd guess wrong. Texas is saturated in the "chip in the body is the Mark of the Beast" meme. They don't need to know any of the good reasons to refuse an implanted RFID chip - they have a perfectly serviceable bad reason.
This is the classic bait and switch. It amazes me how naive people can be. You'd think they learn after finding out that Hitler's promise of a Volkswagen was a bad idea.
Less than a century ago 1/4 of German citizens were unhappy about receiving tattoos on their left forearm.
How times have changed!
How much do you want to bet that this is the same percentage of
the population that's living on the governments dime?
www.alphalinux.org
http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2008-05-08/
Nazis had pieces of flair that they made the Jews wear. This seem like a high tech ver of that.
Seriously, this number is likely not characteristic for the Germans, but more likely a characteristic of larger groups of randomly selected people. I seriously doubt that most of the agreeing people do even begin to understand the implications.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Why, yes, there have been studies on chips and cancers. You can read about it in mainstream media like, oh, the Washington Post -- "There's no way in the world, having read this information, that I would have one of those chips implanted in my skin, or in one of my family members," said Dr. Robert Benezra, head of the Cancer Biology Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York." But hey, that's just some wacky oncologist talk.
another tag for this article: 666
"Apparatus dignosco occultus, satis non supernus."
...but given the fortuitous context, I have to trigger Godwin's Law here.
If it means shorter lines at the supermarket, a quarter of Germans would be happy to have a chip implanted under their skin.
It would have meant shorter lines at Auschwitz, too.
Honestly, I'm not altogether opposed to implants, though I'm much more interested in stuff that's not yet possible, like having a fully-functional computing environment directly interfaced to my nervous system with all the usual transhumanist trimmings. But even there, before the first implant goes in, much less millions of them, we need a comprehensive legal framework to define how the state and private organizations can interface with implants and what they can do with the data gleaned thereby. Sure, it'd be handy to not have to bother with carrying a wallet and its contents anymore, but not at the expense of having the state and various corporations tracking my every move without due process of law, or giving police free rein to use some kind of personal kill switch like the ones they envision for automobiles.
In short, technology is just power, and power is morally neutral. It's what you do with it that counts, and if you don't take great care in ensuring that its uses are not malign, malign people will be drawn to it like flies to shit. And given the way that law enforcement agencies like to pitch their power grabs to national legislatures, if we don't establish some clear boundaries now with trivial implants, some future FBI director will be sitting in front of Congress, arguing that -- in the name of fighting drugs/pedophiles/terrorists or whatever new bogeyman they come up with -- law enforcement needs unrestrained access to the latest non-trivial implants just like they've had all along with trivial ID chips. And they'll get what they ask for and abuse it, because that's what they always do.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
The respondents thought "chips" meant fried potatoes.
.. article full of shit. hes the president of the biggest german industry it-lobby group, the same idiot group that trys to push forward patenting laws like in the us.
Big Brother or Der Große Bruder? I don't understand why Germans would like to give such force to the government, it's not like they did that in the past..
>25% of people (not necessarily just german people) are idiots.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
Tracking i'm not so concerned about (I have little to hide). its the ease of disablement once they get a foothold, that I'd be more concerned about.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
He sells the stuff, so he says he would be willing to have a chip implanted. Then he asked three other people and they told him "fuck off, you pervert" and punched him in the face. At that point he gave up and claimed 25% agreement.
At least the Poles will have sufficient warning this time ;)
The amount of time I spend locking the time of the cashier (and therefore the line) is minimal. Simply, do the whole prepay procedure (swipe card, enter code) while the cashier is going through your goods. Once it is time to pay, all you have to do is press a single button.
The problem is not with current technology. It is with people who aren't using it efficiently, such as those who wait to swipe the card and input the code until after all the goods have been processed. Of course, if you can't do it like mentioned above in your country, then it is a problem with technology. But not one of the technology being outdated, but one of it being badly designed.
I am german and I do not want a Chip implanted
I actually think, since 50% of the people I meet on the street are stupid as s**t, having 75% oppose this technology is quite a good ratio.
Just a thought
I know it is highly offensive to some people.
One day I was commenting on technology, and this sort of thing, and at the same time the inability of me to remember my Social Insurance Number when ever I needed it. I also could not think a a cool significant thing to get a tattoo of that wasn't lame, that I would likely regret in later years.
Anyway musing aloud, I said, maybe I should just get my SIN tattooed on my arm, as it isn't ever going to change, and it would be useful, particularity as an identifying mark in case something ever happened to me.
Well it just happened that one of the friends I was describing this too was Jewish. He actually looked at me like I was the stupidest most inconsiderate person in the world and with utter contempt. He drew the analogy of Germans tattooing numbers on Jews in concentration camps in WW2.
Anyway I can sort of see where he is coming from, but at the same time, that was a long time ago, I am not Jewish, it would be voluntary, I don't really see the big deal. Of course as mentioned neither am I Jewish either.
This is essentially the same thing the only difference being that the "number" is hidden as an RF signal. So I could see some outrage out there from some people.
That said this technology is becoming more and more mature, as this exact method has been used for Fluffy the cat and Spike the dog for several years now.
Nuff said...
if you are one of the people carrying cell phones, quit complaining about RFID tags "tracking you".
Yes, but...
Cell Phone:
- Turn the phone off, disconnect the battery, enjoy a few relax moments of complete freedom (from being observed, but also from being harassed by phone calls...)
Implanted RFID chip :
- You'll have to saw your arm off to achieve similar result.
- Or use a full body tin-foil suit.
The first one is done regularly by people wanting some privacy and moments of silence from time to time.
The second one is pretty much fucking impractical.
In fact, bad control of software security aside*, and with the advent of very low-power low range communication (Bluetooth 4's Wibree), why not put the *phones* in charge of handling this kind of transaction ?
Want to go shopping ? Turn on the paying function at the press of 1 button (well, the tapping of 1 icon to be precise) before getting through the gate. And tap the screen to confirm the transaction, while checking it. Then turn of the phone (or let it auto-turn off after a few minutes).
Want to have a private, relaxing moment ? Just turn the damn device off.
* that is : unless a separate electronic device handling encryption or sign-ins, like the devices provided by some European banks, is directly attached to the phone case, but without any logical communication with it (I think some kind of this solution is used by presidents in the USA).
Not like a crypto chip which automatically crypts/decrypts whatever the smartphone sends to it, but something which has to be expressly validated by the user.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]