Science-fiction novels are becoming more of a reality with each passing day.
The Associated Press published a report on Monday that looks at companies implanting microchips in their employees. What was once a distant conspiracy theory in the early-2000s is gradually becoming a widespread function for both private and public sectors.
According to the newswire agency, Swedish start-up hub Epicenter offers to insert microchips “the size of grains of rice” in its workers and startup members. These microchips function as swipe cards to use printers, open doors and purchase smoothies.
Employees are visited by a so-called body hacker, who is prepared with a preloaded syringe. He then proceeds to inject the microchip close to your thumb. The microchips utilize near-field communication technology (NFCT), which can also be found in credit cards. When the hand swipes near a reader, the data starts to flow through electromagnetic waves. This kind of technology is generally used to track parcels or dogs.
Epicenter, which maintains a workforce of about 2,000, started to implant its employees in January 2015. Today, approximately 150 workers have opted to be chipped.
Why have these workers chosen to be implanted with a microchip? Convenience and “to be part of the future.”
“The biggest benefit, I think, is convenience,” Patrick Mesterson, Epicenter co-founder, told the news outlet. “It basically replaces a lot of things you have, other communication devices, whether it be credit cards or keys.”
Ben Libberton, a microbiologist at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute, warned about hackers potentially gaining immense amounts of data from your microchip.
“The data that you could possibly get from a chip that is embedded in your body is a lot different from the data that you can get from a smartphone,” he says. “Conceptually you could get data about your health, you could get data about your whereabouts, how often you’re working, how long you’re working, if you’re taking toilet breaks and things like that.”
Right now, these kinds of microchips being used by a small number of companies may seem benign, but imagine what the future could look like. If governments or corporations implement this technology then be ready to never speak out against the status quo and the state because a bureaucrat can immediately shut off your access to the world. Remember, governments are usually nefarious entities that never have your interests at heart.
Like the war on cash and a transition into a cashless society, microchips are about control.
Scary times indeed.
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