Cyborg Family Gets Chipped
from the fun-for-the-whole-family dept
A few months back we wrote about the family in Florida that wanted to implant themselves with the new VeriChip tracking device for a variety of reasons (from "it's cool" to "it's safer"). Well, now it seems as though, they've gone through with it. Of course, this is all just a big publicity stunt at this point. It's not likely that these chips will ever be used for anything useful (or that anyone will have the necessary readers on the very very small chance that they were needed).
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The companies give the readers away (I believe) to hospitals that will administer the procedure to new animals (subscribers -- there is a small annual fee). There are two companies that make the chips and readers, but their readers are cross-compatible. About 3000 readers nationwide.
If you were ever rendered unconscious by a car crash (or, as happened to a team mate of mine recently, bike crash), it would be nice to know the little chip could give up your pertinent details. Plant mine in my chest, so if you try to scan me without my permission, I can tell you exactly what I think of that...
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Police State
If you have a perminent digital ID, anyone who can pick it up can track you with whatever database they choose, wheather the owner ofthe ID knows or not.
So... with recent hapennings centered around copyrights and digital content performance etc... Twenty years from now, what do you think "pertinent details" will define?
/me shudders at the thought
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want info
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