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Companies Start Implanting Microchips Into Workers' Bodies (latimes.com)
A Swedish start-up called Epicenter is offering to implant its employees and start-up members with microchips that function as swipe cards, allowing them to open doors, operate equipment or buy food and drinks with a wave of the hand. While these microchips have been available for decades, the technology has never been implanted in humans on such a broad scale. "Epicenter and a handful of other companies are the first to make chip implants broadly available," reports Associated Press. From the report: [A]s with most new technologies, it raises security and privacy issues. Although the chips are biologically safe, the data they generate can show how often employees come to work or what they buy. Unlike company swipe cards or smartphones, which can generate the same data, people cannot easily separate themselves from the chips. Epicenter, which is home to more than 100 companies and roughly 2,000 workers, began implanting workers in January 2015. Now, about 150 workers have the chips. A company based in Belgium also offers its employees such implants, and there are isolated cases around the world in which tech enthusiasts have tried them out in recent years. The small implants use near-field communication technology, or NFC, the same as in contactless credit cards or mobile payments. When activated by a reader a few inches away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves. The implants are "passive," meaning they contain information that other devices can read, but cannot read information themselves. Ben Libberton, a microbiologist at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute, says hackers could conceivably gain huge swaths of information from embedded microchips. The ethical dilemmas will become bigger the more sophisticated the microchips become. Epicenter workers stage monthly events where attendees can receive the implant.
Can they scan the real-time position of the chip? Because very morning they'll measure about 30 minutes of rapid wrist motion on the right arm and slow finger movements on the left...
A bracelet with the chip in it would be a much better alternative, with no need to implant anything, cause tissue scarring, risk infection, etc.
Seriously, it could be a silicone band. Or a ring. Or a little sticker you could apply to any piece of jewelry you want.
"Epicenter workers stage monthly events where attendees can receive the implant."
welcome to our cult.
As long as the implants are completely voluntary and offer to remove them when no longer wanted, I don't see a problem here.
Personally I'd rather have my idiots at home glued to the TV than out doing idiotic things
Everybody already carries their phones with them everywhere they go.
Please implant it on my watch or anything else wearable that I usually carry around but easily can leave behind. Thank you.
Problem solved!
Peace is easy to achieve, just surrender. Liberty is much harder get/keep.
Mark of the beast?
almost 20 years ago. blood type/serial number/etc. voluntarily, mostly. inevitable.
The gradual process of transforming humans into robots.
I, for one welcome our new robot overlords...
"Sorry, but you're being let go. These two gentlemen will escort you from the building, with a stop at the nurse to yank your chip."
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
I doubt this will ever become "mandatory", but should that be the case, I will not comply. I'm not one for conspiracy theories or end times nonsense, but this smacks of nothing but a means to control people. I'm subject to no man. Since my life is not my employer's property, what would be the end goal? People have lives outside of work. Sadly, in the US and in other places, employers don't seem to grok that people have lives that begin the second the leave for the afternoon. The French understand this. I doubt this crap would ever fly in France, Spain, Portugal, or Italy--all places that deeply value family time and balance.
Some people will say this is the precursor to the "mark of the beast". Perhaps. Either way, I wasn't born with technology in my body and I will not shuffle off this mortal coil with any, either. Will not comply.
Yea, I understand it is nearly impossible to clone an RFID chip (Impossible in that it is nearly trivial if you ignore people saying it can't be done)
Since they are implanted and can't be covered, anyone with an NFC reader can read it, and clone it in a matter of seconds just by walking by you.
Not sure where all this removing body parts comes from. Why bother with that when you can secretly clone in less time than it takes to cut out the chip from someone's arm.
It's a stupid idea. People work for a couple of years in a company and move on, yet they're suppose to have a foreign object inserted into them that remains for the rest of their life? Sane companies issue swipe cards, key fobs or similar to their employees.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/... Perhaps double duty as a wearable Faraday cage.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
As long as the implants are completely voluntary and offer to remove them when no longer wanted, I don't see a problem here.
Then you aren't thinking hard enough about the problem. There are all sorts of serious problems.
There is voluntary and then there is "voluntary" where your choice is to do it or lose your job. Once the infrastructure gets set up in such a way that it is
inconvenient/impossible to function effectively without them then they no longer are voluntary in any meaningful sense of the word.
If it is voluntary then there is little advantage in such a system, especially if few people opt-in. The cost alone will make it prohibitive and virtually all the advantages reside with the employer not the employee.
The privacy issues involved in this sort of thing are legion. Too numerous to even enumerate here.
There is the creepy factor. Do you really want to be micro-chipped like the family pet?
There also are problems of infection, maintenance, removal, etc. If the system gets compromised then the users potentially get to have surgery. Fun!
I hope it's a late April fool
Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. And we have a great corporate culture and no PHB's!
At long last, we can figure out which jerk is using all the toilet paper and clogging the plumbing. As a bonus we can improve employee health!
Dear employee: We have noticed that you are using an average of 9.8 squares of toilet paper per wipe, and wiping an average of 19 times, 3.2 seconds per wipe, four times per day, and yet only spend an average of 6.4 seconds at the sink. And by the way, using your right hand for that is just nasty. Please report to the Employee Wellness center for voluntary tips on how to wash your hands and increase your fiber intake.
If you are afraid, just wear a metal butcher's glove on that hand.
If you decorate it with a bit of leather and diamonds, people might think they saw Michael Jackson at the gas station.
Nothing personal, but the only way any company/government busybodies are putting a meat tag on me is over my lifeless corpse.
And they are opening themselves to litigation if employees feel coerced into getting such an invasive and demeaning tracking method.
Sometimes I think that corporations watch Black Mirror for ideas.
"From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
So let's hope the ones stealing the implant from you are skilled!
I had a RFID chip implanted in my hand 3 years ago, just for self-interest. ( I have no desire to enslave the human population in end-times )
It was inserted by a friend who's a registered nurse, with some Lanacane. (highly recommend the Lanacane!)
I chose my non-dominant hand in case something went horribly wrong, but there haven't been any complications.
It is very convenient and I use it daily. My house door locks, garage door opener, car door locks and safe are all accessible by a swipe of my hand, as well as a rfid reader by my bed that turns off all my house lights and lowers the house temperature for overnight.
I can understand the concerns people have about implanting chips - chipped bracelets/rings could all do the same thing and I haven't been able to convince my girlfriend to get one implanted yet -- but I just love the convenience of always having it with me.
Sadly, my workplace won't let me use my chip with their swipe access system. Which would have been super handy today, since I forgot my ID card, and had to walk around to the front entrance in the pouring rain.
Glad I don't work for that company. I'd rather be unemployed than have anyone put something like that in any part of my body. I know it's not mandatory, but still..
* It would be good for governments to work out a legal framework for acceptable use of these kinds of chips. For example, can a company force its employees to have a chip like this implanted? How much pressure, and what kind of pressure, can a company put on its employees (or possibly customers) to accept a chip? What kind of information is legally allowed to be gathered using this chip?
* It would be good to have this chip be standardized. If we're going to head down this road, you know a lot of people are going to want to use it for a lot of purposes. Given the way things work these days, I wouldn't be surprised if every company wanted you to use *their* chip that only works for *their* services. Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Facebook will each come up with their own completely incompatible chip technologies. You'll end up with a chip for your work, a different chip for your apartment building, and yet another just to log into your email account. Yes, I think we are that stupid. If people are going to be implanting chips for this purpose, it should just be one chip that can be used to authenticate your identity, and that authentication should be able to be used anywhere.
* Therefore, you'd want to have a standards body to decide how it should all work, and everyone needs to get on board.
* That standards body should have unbiased, non-political security experts to advise them. Those security experts should not only evaluate the technical design for the chip, but also how easily the chip could be cloned, removed, used for surveillance, or otherwise compromised/abused. They should also look at how significantly the implantation improves security over a carried token, and whether the technology can be future-proofed to prevent people from needing to swap it out excessively due to emerging security vulnerabilities.
I don't know what else. That's just off the top of my head. I'd assume that real experts with time to think about it could have quite a bit to think about.
Okay, I'm not really religious, but for this I'd convert! Enemy of the enemy.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
Basically it's like branding cattle. Of course this could be done through rings, bracelets, or even simple rfid's in wallets, but the point is you CAN'T remove it when you want. I suspect this is a test/beginning in getting people to be branded just like livestock. The trouble is, like livestock, we'll have zero privacy (see the movie "Minority Report": the possibilities there (knowing what to market to you while passing through a mall) are similar to what is already happening now to quieter degree). People need to recognize the purpose of a design, and when they see it it works against them, say "no". People aren't vocalizing their concerns enough on this one. We all want to be a part of the A future. The question is, which future do we really want long term.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Einstein
This technology has been available for dogs & cats for years. Most dogs and outdoor cats are "microchipped" so the local ACO (animal control officer) or shelter can identify the owner. I've even seen it used with fish and other marine animals at the aquarium.
Not a new technology, and well proven.
Whether it's a good idea is another question.
See just the employee card on its own, as long as it's JUST ID, isn't really an issue.
The problem is that eventually, these things all get unified. Companies will first push for that same chip to become your medicalert bracelet equivalent, and that'll sound good because it helps keep people safe. And then your bus card. Eventually your debit card, then your health insurance and SIN... Except every reader will increasingly be reading every single piece of this.
Identity and "wallet" theft aside, the value of this to advertisers, blackmailers and of course every single corrupt LEO (pardon the redundancy) or spook out there will be measured on a cosmic scale. And if you thought parallel construction and planted evidence are bad now, wait until it becomes literally impossible to ever have an alibi...
Really bad idea....
So when the gig economy fires up and we all start working for 100 companies over our careers, we have to get 33-34 chips in our arms if 1/3 of them decide they are 'secure' enough to use this? Who pays to have these removed surgically when the number of chips in the arm gets ridiculous for anyone?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
I'd rather starve to death than to be chipped like a dog and followed around in real time, only to be assassinated by a psycho...
I don't think so.
Would have to be one serious amount of incentive for me to even consider this.
Besides personal privacy issues, there are these little thoughts as well...
- How hard would it be for someone to plant a chip reader on the bottom side of a hand rial in a public place to just steel your info/money - easier than a card skimmer I suppose.
- What happens when I change jobs - does it get removed, deactivated (are you sure its deactivated), avg job tenure is only a couple years these days.
and then there is this thought
- Ever seen those movies where the bad guy just cuts the good guys hand/thumb off to gain access to a secure area? Think Id rather them just take my badge/fob.
Carry on. Nothing to see here.
Your body belongs to you, and if you are willing to let some corporation or government dictate and require you to put something in it, then you are a true slave. Hold your ground.
besides, If I wanted to I could scan the chip in you and forge my own duplicate and put it in my pocket. This is not as secure as they would have you believe.
mark of the beast blahh blahh gov't rules us all yada yada blah.big brother...
Now that's out of the way, I refuse to do this because I refuse to be chipped like
I am a dog, or some package to be "processed". I don't know about anyone
else, but I prefer to keep my dignity not
to mention my humanity intact.
I'll stick with card and wallet thank you very much.
It will make the layoff or firing that more pleasant when they want it back.
That way the company can add the literal to the present figurative that we already get.
I'll take the implant, you got it. Just show me a lifetime contract.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, they implant all the sheep. "BAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH", they say.
Unsurprisingly, the thoughtless lizard-brained so-called-human trendies can be herded just the same.
A little fearmongering here, some temptation there, and they're happy to do whatever you want of them.
You are livestock and your life is worthless. Now get your chip. Yes you're a good "cyborg".
Speaking of Sweden, how's the migrant rape... er I mean cultural enrichment ...situation going?
Anyone from Malmo want to sound off? "Thank you may I have another HIV+ jihadist dick in my pussy!" Ah yes, great... Those poor souls...
Wake the fuck up Europe. Stop being a bunch of faggots and cuckolds. Just because you side with them doesn't mean they will spare you.
So what happens when you switch jobs? You have your current employer's chip removed and your new employer's chip installed? The firmware gets updated? How exactly does that work? If the firmware can be updated what's to stop a hacker from doing something to a device inside of one's body? Nothing could possibly go wrong. I doubt this idea will ever see the light of day.
We'll make great pets
16 And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.
Really bad idea....
So implant it in your dick - nobody will miss that
This is how the Tribulations start. Right?
Fuck that Swedish startup! This should be outlawed right quick.
It should include a little dose of cyanide to enforce a non-disclosure agreement clause in case of termination.
The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. - Marcus Aurelius
Has anybody asked Logan about this?
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
I guess it all depends on your definition of 'biologically safe.' I bet it wouldn't be very safe if the chip were to get an overloaded electromagnetic pulse at its operating frequency. Gives DOS attack a new meaning.
On a positive note, it might get hot enough to cauterize the area around it thus preventing infection.
Lodragan Draoidh
The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it. - Mark Twain
666! The number of the BEAST! They warned us about this, they did, in the BIBLE!
All kidding aside, this does seem a little... 1984-ish, and I personally would tell them to go fuck themselves; no one shoves a fucking leash up my ass. I hope they will do the same. Biometric should be good enough. If it's not, well, tough tittie-toenails!
Because ID Badges with the same RFID's are sooooo inconvenient, lets resort to permanent tagging.
The corporate overlords are smiling.
Boss: Could you hand me those pliers, please?
You: Sure. Here you go.
Boss: Thanks. There has been some cutbacks in our department, so I'm going to have to let you go. Now hold still please (if you want to get your severance check).
And please stop, umm... 'shaking' the chip in your arm three times a day. It'll break. And we don't the chip!
This would never fly in America. Evangelicals would think it was the mark of the beast, and begin quoting Revelation chapter 13 again and again, especially verses 16 and 17.
How ya like dat?
... when applying for a job. "Do you inject foreign objects into your employees?"
I've been hanging out on the Internet long enough to remember the Usenet thread "The Great Usenet Piss Test"--on misc.jobs.misc, IIRC--which listed companies that had drug testing policies ranging from the "yeah this makes some sense" to the absolutely ridiculous. Now we can, I guess, expect to see a host of web sites popping up listing companies that want to implant transponders in their workers. (Retirement can't come soon enough.)
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
Black Mirror is taking its ideas from people sitting in on corporate board meetings. Given that the companies basically run themselves (outside of offshoring, layoffs, buyouts, sellouts, and bankruptcies), corporate executive types have nothing better to do than discuss fictional ideas to improve their business, or disenfranchise their employees. And what could be better in doing that than near-future ideas like the concepts often posed on shows like Black Mirror?
And most also appear to enjoy enacting biblical end times terrors, rather than fending them off.
I sometimes wonder if the Old Testament was written as both a how-to manual to authoritarianism and a lesson in reverse psychology, the way people seem to enjoy taking up their own chains.
Could the dick microchip reader be ah, um, an "insertion" type device? Can we request a manual scan from a gender of our choosing? What if multiple scans are required? You know, the chips and readers aren't terribly reliable and the presenting persons are sometimes "too quick and enthusiastic".
And I want Dyson to come out with an improved dick reader with more power, greater airflow and heating. "We take the obvious problems with dick readers and solve them", yeah, that's the ticket!
I can't help but to think of the song by Congo Natty.
Congo Natty - Micro Chip (Say No)
Oh yeah? Fuck you, companies. I'm an Atmel man.
#DeleteFacebook
http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki...
#DeleteFacebook
Employees tell employers who require implanted chips to go fuck themselves.
Boss: You are required to have a chip implanted in your body. Me: Go fuck yourself. Boss: You're fired. Me: I'll remember you said that when I own the company after the lawsuit.
The original KJV version of the Bible says the mark is "in," not on like in the Left Behind books. 666 is just the Roman numerals at the time added up in order. And "decades" huh? You're telling me we had commercial chip implants since 1997? No, but in 1998 we had Windows 98. Come on dude. -_-
I read about this in This Perfect Day, by Ira Levin.
Marx, Christ, Wu, Wei,
We thank you for this perfect day.
Wu, Wei, Marx, Christ,
All but Wei were sacrificed.
Alright, so he can't buy food or a place to stay for the night and it would be a waste of time to mug somebody, unless he rips someones hand off, so lets hope he doesn't figure that one out.
My memory is a bit fuzzy here and I cannot provide attribution but.. several years back, a governmental agency south of the US border thought it was a good idea to implant the RFID chips used for identification and authorization for building entry into humans. Long story short, a few people lost their limbs because some found an opportunity to exploit. For identification, any biometrics or RFID without continuous assurance that said mechanism has been un-tampered is worthless.