Computer chips get under your skin!

[Osiris]

Are you sick of forgetting your passwords? Want to just wave your hand instead? Do you want to pay your bill at the supermarket using ur hand? Sick of being asked to show your ID everywhere you go? Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, is doing so with a tiny Radio Frequency Ientification (RFID) computer chip implanted into his hand. So what is RFID, then?

According to Wikipedia, it’s "an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is a small object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person. RFID tags contain silicon chips and antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver." Implanting these tags into human beings is not a new idea, and has in fact attracted some criticism from members of the Christian community.

Just imagine the impact of such technology! I think its potentials are enormous: there will be no more need of house/car keys, credit cards, bus tickets, ID cards... etc. We can't lose it (of course except u lose ur hand...) and we can't forget to bring it! (No more excuses!)

With a database of frequency identification (preferrably a massive, global one) and availability of transceivers, we no longer need to use GPS to navigate ourselves in the city streets, and lots of things can be adjusted according to our needs automatically based on our ID. (I dunno if IPv6 can be used here)

But the system have to be perfect. Its security should be near perfect! You can imagine that a small gap can lead to catastrophic events!

Chips in our body, sounds like Science Fiction? Well, not anymore!

What do you think?

[SeekNirvana]

Indeed, it's huge!

About those RFID tags, they have been used in the FIFA World Cup to prevent ticket counterfeiting. These tags are very cheap (in cents) and can be easily programmed to interact with a tag reader. Before going to humans, imagine the revolution in the world of inventory management: the switch from barcodes to RFID chips is the way to go ... it's guaranteed $$$.

Regarding these chips being implanted inside humans, this seems convenient. Concerning security, the only potential problem to ensure is that the data on the chip be encrypted with a specific algorithm that can only be decrypted by the reader (I'm pretty sure that's what is going now) because of the sensitive data on the chip. I don't see any other problem that is generated by this solution ... and at the same time, we can clearly see its practicality.

Speaking of science fiction, I find this conservative compared to virtual reality :) ... you can start at wikipedia, keyword: Virtual Reality. Enjoy!

[Fragrance of Roses]

I had one installed in my cat! Yes I did! and boy was I grateful that I did when I lost her once! She was found and taken to the Humane Society, and then scanned. They knew everything they needed to know about her (name, address, license number,...), and so she was brought back to me within hours!
So basically in the States, they are applying this technology on animals, but I am not sure on what else do they have it.
The chip was installed in the head (injected to the skin of the head right between the skin and skull). It is not a painful process, nor does it cause the animal any distress.