By Shaida Sham | @shai_sham
Published: Saturday, April 08, 2017
Following the headlines in 2016, “Australia Becomes the First Country to Begin Microchipping its Population”, companies in Sweden and Belgium are boasting dystopian vision in their workplaces by Microchipping their employees. Today, retail estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people have implanted Radio-Frequency identification (RFID) in their bodies in a bid to be part of the future by simplifying their lives with a wave of a hand.
The RFID is roughly about the size of a grain of rice and can be purchase at an affordable $80 to $140 in Australia. It is capable of storing every information about you and eventually replacing physical cards and keys. Recalling numerous passwords will no longer be an issue with RFID as it will be withhold your banking accounts, credit cards, health, club memberships even purchase information.
Transactions at the supermarkets will be a breeze as it replaces smartphone payments such as Apple Pay.
With the practice growing globally, there are chilling implications and threats to the society if there are no legislation to control the invasion of privacy issues and potential cyber attacks. One’s identity could surreptitiously be tracked and his data will easily be collected by potential biohackers as he goes around the city – what items he has purchased and when he leave his home.
Other ethical issues include who owns the chip and what are the implications if the practice eventually becomes a norm that the government decides to microchip every citizen for passport control and other security reasons. CCTVs, biometric and iris identification may become technology of the past. Would you get microchipped if the government pushes for a total surveillance state? I would not.
At least four states in the US have passed bills to ban the implanting RFID chips onto human beings without their consent. Other nations can model this move as the technology has become more real and no longer a far-fetched fantasy.
No comments:
Post a Comment