Technology Under Your Skin: The Microchip Challenges

Key takeaways

We’ve seen technological revolutions, be it AI turning the world around or virtual reality being able to transfer us to a different world.
We’ve listened to and read about the advocacy of microchips from every corner of the world, but here we need to address the challenges they possess and how we can try to look at them with an unbiased perspective.
They believe that it should be able to fill the role of the organic conditions that have been existing as the link between human physiological processes and the environment.

Technology has evolved a lot in the past few years. We’ve seen technological revolutions, be it AI turning the world around or virtual reality being able to transfer us to a different world. The metaverse has been a great addition to the fleet. Technology is climbing unprecedented heights in the healthcare industry to create a better world. We have seen diseases getting cured and different gadgets being developed to tackle these deadly diseases. We are headed up for more appealing technological evolutions as the world changes.

But now we are witnessing something different, something too connected to the human body—microchips implant. In simple words, we can label it as ’technology under our skin’. But is it just that? Or is there something more to that? In this article, we’ll try to focus on several factors around microchips. Let’s move ahead and understand what microchip implants are.

What is Microchip Implant? #

A microchip implant can be referred to as a device that can be injected or implanted into the skin of any human or pet animal. These microchips are tiny so that they can be inserted into anyone without rigorous surgery. Microchip implants are usually introduced with a syringe specially developed for the purpose or can be implanted with minor surgery.

A microchip implant, also known as injected ID or ID chips, can either be in the form of an integrated circuit or an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag layered in a silicon casing with a size similar to a grain of rice. They are employed not only in humans but also in pets for identifying purposes. These implants often have a unique identification number that companies or governments can use to retrieve information housed in an external database, such as ID, medical history, prescriptions, allergies, location, and contact information.

In 1998, Kevin Warwick, a professor at Reading University, had a chip implanted in his palm to demonstrate that it was possible and as a way of exploring the transhumanist belief that integrating technology with the flesh is the next phase in humanity’s evolution.

Technology Under Your Skin #

In Sweden, hundreds of individuals have had microchips implanted in their hands. The chips are supposed to speed up users’ everyday routines by being able to access their surrounding environment. They can be used to store emergency contacts, e-tickets for events, social media profiles, and rail excursions.

In the coming years, microchips can make their lives more pleasant. They can access their homes, businesses, and gyms. Microchips, through interconnected networks, can do all the things a person used to desire for the future world as easily as making a phone call in today’s world.

You must understand that these chips are an extension of the Internet of Things (IoT), a universe of connected devices that keeps growing every minute. With over 30 billion devices connected by the end of 2020, the number is expected to grow to approximately 75 billion by 2025. Just as the world begins to appreciate the numerous benefits of the IoT and the dark side of ‘smart everything’, including connected cities, we are now looking at little chips posing significant new privacy challenges.

Advocates of microchips consider them to be safe and secure; however, scientists are expressing privacy concerns due to the nature of information tracked and stored in these devices. Implanting chips in the human body may have privacy and security concerns that extend far beyond clicking pictures in public places, facial recognition, tracking of locations, driving habits, spending histories, and even data ownership. These concerns pose significant challenges to the technology’s acceptance.

The Challenges Ahead #

We’ve listened to and read about the advocacy of microchips from every corner of the world, but here we need to address the challenges they possess and how we can try to look at them with an unbiased perspective.

Uncertainty #

We are unaware of the long-term effects of these chips on the human body, and the societal repercussions of widespread acceptance of implanting chips. There can be several assumptions about how the use of them will turn out to be, but without testing, still, an uncertainty remains which will impact the growth of an aspiring market. With proper testing and new arrivals, people can at least be sure about the usage and the pros and cons of microchip implants.

The Game of Context #

Context while letting someone access your data is a big thing, but with something inside your body, you never know if that context is still relevant. People offering services can serve you better if they have more information about you. For instance, if you continually keep the GPS on, it could help to know if you’re speeding.

Accessing and Controlling Your Data #

Any new technology is rife with flaws and weaknesses. Microchips are in the same boat as many other technologies. The combination of sensitive information and trust on a single chip makes it a tempting target for hackers all over the world. When information is writable or readable, data corruption becomes much more accessible. Allowing corporations to scan your chip for identification gives them access to your location within their establishment.

Lack of Norms and No Replacement #

Unfortunately, due to the enormous diversity of digital identification systems, a single card can’t be used for several purposes. You might need to implant one chip for the subway, another for your credit card, one for your library, etc.

Undoubtedly, this technology will develop with time, bringing more functionality. But with old hardware, new functionality limits itself, so sooner, there’ll be a need for hardware replacement.

Health Concerns #

If sufficient care is not taken, the implanted chips could migrate within the body. This would be less of a concern if chips were standard or devices could track them. But if the chips are in a location that is hard to discover, it will get tough to find them and will be even more challenging for medical professionals to take care of the same.

The FDA has noted various concerns for human microchipping, including unfavorable tissue reactions, electrical hazards, and arguably crucially, incompatibility with strong-magnetic medical equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs). You can’t take any metal piece while going for an MRI scan, which includes pacemakers, aneurysm clips, dental implants, hip/knee replacements (unless they’re nonmagnetic titanium), and embedded microchips.

The Surveillance Threats #

Consequently, such technology can look like the next logical step—especially among individuals who already favor skin piercings and various tattoos. But on the other hand, the insertion of identifying microchips in humans also seems to bear the seeds of a particularly intrusive form of surveillance, especially at a time when authorities in some parts of the world have been forcibly collecting DNA and other biological data—including fingerprints, blood samples, voice recordings, iris scans, and other unique identifiers—from all their citizens, in an extreme form of the surveillance state. Before choosing what to think of this teach, we should delve under the hood and find out more about some of the pieces of this hybrid human-machine technology.

Conclusion #

All said and done, microchips still have a fair edge in the upcoming teach market. The technology is now widely used in commercial markets after years of research.

Experts do believe that a limited and regulated interaction between biological systems and mechanical equipment would provide the human body with everything it needs. They believe that it should be able to fill the role of the organic conditions that have been existing as the link between human physiological processes and the environment.

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