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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.
Problem solved!
Peace is easy to achieve, just surrender. Liberty is much harder get/keep.
I think you need to reassess the term 'voluntary', as there are many ways that corporate management can 'entice' you to 'volunteer' against your will. It's a slippery slope here, and as a previous poster mentioned not only invades privacy beyond what is required to achieve the desired function (unlock a door, purchase lunch), but also imposes health risks that many may not wish to undertake merely for the sake of employment.
I hope it's a late April fool
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.
That's a dangerous way of thinking. The problem is that making microchip implants ordinary opens the door for these type of things to be abused. First it's just voluntary for those who want to work for a particular company, then it's just ordinary for those who work for particular industries, then it's just your driver's license. At first all it does is open doors, and then later iterations will monitor your location and health and who you interact with.
Sure, it's a slippery slope argument but slippery slope arguments aren't necessarily fallacious. This has already happened with cell phones. They started as a niche device and now it's difficult to function in society without one. And they collect all your information and make privacy obsolete. It doesn't take a ridiculous amount of foresight to see the dangers of certain technologies. George Orwell predicted the danger of televisions with cameras/microphones connected to the internet in 1949 yet we still allow these things in our home without demanding legislative protections to our privacy.
I see a problem here.
"From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
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."
RFID chips can be made as impossible to clone as smart cards.
No, gaining access to the smart card contact pads won't help you in any way, neither will MITMing it.
IOW you're full of shit.
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
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.