Project #5

Chip Implants

A controversial IT related issue that I have come across is the ability to implant Radio Frequency ID (RFID) microchips into humans. This has sparked a heated debate between science and religion. Science views this as a great help to society as it would reduce what a person would typically need to bring on a day to day basis. Religion says that this is the will of the devil. Some also say that by implanting people with microchips this will be an extreme invasion on their privacy.

A human microchip implant is an integrated circuit device or RFID tag encased in silicate glass and implanted into a human's body. Such implants can be used for information storage, including personal identification, medical history, medications, allergies, and contact information.

The first reported experiment with an RFID implant was carried out in 1998 by the British scientist Kevin Warwick. As a test his implant was used to open doors, switch on lights and cause verbal output within a building.

In 2004, the VeriChip Corporation received preliminary approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its device in the U.S. within specific guidelines. Since its approval, about 80 hospitals and 232 doctors have elected to use the system. By implanting such a chip with a patient's medical record, hospitals and emergency workers can immediately gain access to an ill or injured person's medical history regardless of location. Implanted chips are impossible to lose, which could reduce the chances of information theft. Homes and automobiles could be equipped with scanners for microchips, making house and car keys obsolete (although an RFID lock requires a working power source to function). Locks and ignition switches would only work for persons with an appropriately programmed chip.

If the microchips are completely unencrypted, they would be extremely vulnerable to hacker attacks and interception by third-party scanners. By scanning secretly, someone could steal all of the information on a chip and could clone the signal, possibly leading to criminal misuse of medical files and insurance information. For example, a patient's list of known allergies could be altered maliciously, causing injury or death, or his/her insurance could be copied for another unrelated person to use.

According to the FDA, implantation of the chip itself poses some health concerns. A patient could react adversely to the chip itself by infection or allergy, or it could be implanted improperly. It could dislodge itself and move to a different part of the body than where it was first implanted. The implant could also fail on its own at any time, and the information contained in it could be lost.

More serious trauma could occur if the chip reacts to outside source, such as a strong electrical field or a magnetic resonance imager (MRI) machine. The strong magnets used in an MRI scanner could destroy the implant and cause serious burns, internally and externally.

Veterinary and toxicology studies carried out from 1996 to 2006 found that lab mice and rats injected with microchips sometimes developed subcutaneous sarcomas. Data suggests that up to 10% of the implanted lab animals developed malignant cancers originating in the tissue surrounding the microchips. Dr. Cheryl London, a veterinarian oncologist at Ohio State University, noted: "It's much easier to cause cancer in mice than it is in people. So it may be that what you're seeing in mice represents an exaggerated phenomenon of what may occur in people." London suggested a 20-year study of chipped canines was needed "to see if you have a biological effect." Specialists from several pre-eminent cancer institutions have supported such testing before microchips are implanted on a large scale in humans.

Contrary to popular belief, a GPS-enabled chip, for GPS tracking of individuals, does not yet exist— mainly due to problems with power consumption and antenna performance. Many news sources and websites have confused implantable chips with wearable or portable tracking devices.

Theoretically, a GPS-enabled chip could make it possible for individuals to be physically located by latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, and direction of movement. This could aid authorities in locating missing persons and/or fugitives and those who fled from a crime scene. VeriChip is one of the companies working on a GPS-capable chip. Governments may use microchips for mass surveillance.

Even with all the benefits that this implant brings, the concerns of the public can be grouped into four different areas: the invasiveness of the approach, privacy issues, the perceived link to Nazi-like tattoos and the “mark of the beast” fear shared by some people based on their religious beliefs.

Since the chip is imbedded under the skin, it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that the chip will not be dislodged from its original position and/or cause illness to the carrier.

For many years people have been extremely particular about their privacy and the necessity for it to be protected and preserved. This new technology flames the fears of the public of a “big brother” scenario where the government could use the chips to determine exactly where an individual is and what he/she is doing at any given time. Also, if the right measures are not taken, this system can be easily hacked. Hackers need only a device that both receives and transmits a radio frequency and they could theoretically access the chip of a person.

In World War II Jews in Germany were treated like animals. They were branded and locked up in cages. Microchip implants will not put people in cages but it will brand them with a certain number. Thus, this will in effect make people feel like animals and is obviously undesirable.

Religion quotes a passage from the Bible which reads, " . . . and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." – Revelation 13:15-17.

It seems like microchip implants are fighting a lost cause. The benefits and potential ease of lifestyle that the chips could bring is overshadowed by the personal fears shared by people. Also, since the majority of humans are religious and a good part of them are Catholics, the warning from the Bible will definitely sway them not to get implants. This will seriously affect the popularity of microchip implants and will inevitably cause the research on these implants to cease.

Personally, I would not get an implant. I do believe that it is too invasive and I do not want to gamble with what is said in the Bible. However, I do find the benefits of such a system interesting. Perhaps, they could just provide a single card with the same chip that a person can carry. That way, all the benefits will be retained and the amount of objections to it will be reduced drastically. I see RFID technology being a big part of our future lives. All that needs to happen now is for the developers to implement it in such away that will be acceptable to the public.

References:

http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Chip_Implants/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microchip_implant_%28human%29

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060717081640AAFMPJt

http://www.securitymagazine.com/CDA/Articles/Industry_News/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000161278