Will Microchip Implants in Humans be the New Identity Proof of the Future
Technology was making progress in various fields and developers are taking risks to make life easy. Microchip implants like the ones used in farm animals to track and keep record of their weigh and food intake could also become a possibility to be put in use for humans in the future.
A microchip is pictured on a woman's finger during a presentation of the German Bundesdruckerei (German Federal Print Office) and the Fraunhofer-Institut for Reliability and Micro Integration (IZM) in Berlin July 11, 2007. The chip, which is less than 10 micrometres thick, will in future be used in paper-based security documents like passports. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Microchip implants, the size of a thumbnail, could be placed under the skin of a person. The chip uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) signals to transmit a person's information when they pass through security checks or when they go to watch a match at the stadium. It could be used to open cars, access homes, buildings and even laptop. The chip could be activated or deactivated according to a person's preference with a pin code to safeguard his identity. This technology could become a reality by the next decade. Many people are sceptical about its uses, however it has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of the book "Distraction Addiction" and visiting scholar at Stanford's University's Peace Innovation Lab said that fingerprints and unique eye pattern are biometrics used in the identification systems, with the use of microchip it would become less invasive.
The implant could help in locating patients with Alzheimer's disease, said Speaker and author Ramez Naam who led the early development of Microsoft software.
The microchip technology has various uses; in cars as anti-theft and to activate gas pumps from key rings. Criminals and prisoners could be easily tracked if they are implanted with the chip.
The chip will work only in short ranges through transponders and portal, but to use it to track a person over a large geography or large areas would be difficult and transponders have to be installed throughout the city that can read the identity in public buildings and street corners, said Stuart Lipoff, an electrical engineer and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers spokesman.
The technology could be used in various fields; the police department would greatly benefit from this to track criminals and prisoners. To track cars and read data without having to scan license plates. Doctors could be tracked without having to rely on pagers.
A question that is staring in the face regarding this technology is if it is ethical and safe. Both Naam and Pang agree that there are privacy concerns and the threat of gaining access to a person's personal information including identity theft by the wrong people. The implants should be very small without the use of battery power and it will not be as secure as an encrypted smart phone.
People have used pacemaker and implants during fractures but there is something strange with the chip said Lipoff. Apart from privacy issues it can be used for various other applications.
Troy Dunn who locates missing people on his TNT show said that a chip implant would make his work easier but he does not vote for it. He also added that parents could use it for their children if they are willing for it.
The technology is interesting but can it become a reality is yet to be seen. IBTimes