Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
US Company Implants Chips In Workers
CityWatcher.com, a private video surveillance company has embedded silicon RFID chips in two of its employees. This is the first instance in which workers in the United States have been chipped as a way of identifying them.
(Verichip implantable RFID chip)
The company is testing the VeriChip ID tags as a way of controlling access to physical locations: in the case of CityWatch.com, a room that holds security video footage for government agencies.
Sean Darks, Chief executive of CityWatcher, stated his belief that the chips, which are encased in a special glass to make them human-implantable, are really no different than any other identity cards. Placed in the upper right arm, they are scanned by a device which is essentially the same as an RFID card reader.
“There’s nothing pulsing or sending out a signal,” said Mr Darks, who has had a chip in his own arm. “It’s not a GPS chip. My wife can’t tell where I am.”
(From Us group implants electronic tags in workers)
The basic technology is more than thirty years old; it has been used for almost a generation as a way of providing a permanent ID for animals, including farm animals and pets. It is in wider use for people in other countries. More than 2,000 nightclub patrons in Barcelona, Spain and Rotterdam, Netherlands have been chipped, using the implanted RFID tags to order with the wave of a hand.
If you'd like to get one (just to be on the cutting edge) doctors tyically charge a $200 fee for implantation, a relatively simple procedure involving a needle slightly larger than the diameter of the device itself. Science fiction writers have been working with this idea for a while. In his 1984 book Neuromancer, William Gibson wrote about executives who had special chips implanted not only for identiification, but other purposes as well.
Friday night on Ninsei...He stepped out of the way to let a dark-suited saraiman by, spotting the Mitsubishi-Genentech logo tattooed across the back of the man's right hand.
Was it authentic? If that's for real, he thought, he's in for trouble. If itt wasn't, served him right. M-G employees above a certain level were implanted with advanced microprocessors that monitored mutagen levels in the bloodstream. Gear like that would get you rolled in Night City, straight into a black clinic.
Read some of the other stories about this technology:
- Veripay Credit-Card Implant
- Zombie RFID Tags Arise To Face Privacy Advocates
- VeriChip Tag Patient Implant Badges Now FDA Approved
- RFID Tags Proposed To Halt Blackmarket Cadaver Trade
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 2/14/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 9 )
Index of related articles:
What is RFID?
How RFID Works
How is RFID used inside a living body?
What can RFID be used for?
Is RFID Technology Secure and Private?
Are There Concerns About How RFID Will Be Used? (Update)
Next-Generation Uses of RFID?
What Are Zombie RFID Tags?
Problems With RFID
RFID Information Technology Articles
Advantages of RFID Versus Barcodes
RFID Glossary
Contactless Credit Card Advantages
Contactless Credit Card Disadvantages
Related News Stories - (" Culture ")
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.' - Edmond Hamilton, 1948.
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...' - Frank Herbert, 1964.
Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.' - Percy Greg, 1880.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
