tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/microchipping-54310/articlesMicrochipping – The Conversation2020-09-16T20:36:55Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1270892020-09-16T20:36:55Z2020-09-16T20:36:55Z‘I choose to be a cyborg’: Why I implanted computer chips in my hands<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/358227/original/file-20200915-16-1hcv2dd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7042%2C3896&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cyborgs are people with additional technological hardware connected to their bodies.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I have computer chips in my hands. </p>
<p>The tiny (two millimetre by 12 millimetre) glass ampules are nestled just under the skin on the back of each of my hands and were implanted by a local body piercer several years ago. </p>
<p>The chip in my right hand is a near-field communication device that I scan with an app on my smart phone to access and rewrite the information I have stored on it. It can contain a minuscule 888 kilobytes of data storage and only communicates with devices less than four centimetres away. In my left hand is a chip designed as a digital verification device that uses a proprietary app from the developer <a href="https://www.vivokey.com/">Vivokey</a>. </p>
<p>The implant procedure is neither difficult nor extremely painful. I can feel the bump of the chips under my skin and often invite others to feel it. The bump does not protrude from the back of my hand — if I didn’t tell someone it was there, they would not be able to tell by sight that I had an implant. But they are not undetectable. </p>
<p>An implanted chip can be a secure storage location for emergency contact information, used as an electronic business card, or as <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/08/15/a-growing-number-of-oregonians-love-technology-so-much-they-make-it-part-of-their-bodies/">an electronic key to unlock your door</a>. I give public presentations and interviews about my research and, as a result, do not store private data on my chip.</p>
<h2>Choosing technology</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/10/22/658808705/thousands-of-swedes-are-inserting-microchips-under-their-skin">thousands of people all over the world</a> with chip implants; people I call “voluntary cyborgs.” </p>
<p>Voluntary cyborgs are people involved in the community and practice of implanting technology beneath their skin for enhancement or augmentation purposes and I’ve counted myself as a member of this subculture for several years. My research in the community has focused on <a href="https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2019-13749">the formation of a distinct subculture and its representations in popular media</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-the-biohackers-letting-technology-get-under-their-skin-60756">Meet the biohackers letting technology get under their skin</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>I coined the term voluntary cyborgs to make a distinction from medical cyborgs, who have had technology — like pacemakers, insulin pumps, IUDs and more — implanted by medical professionals for rehabilitative or therapeutic purposes. I intentionally emphasize the voluntary aspect of the implant practice to stave off inferences of coerced microchipping theories popular with a vocal groups of implant critics and detractors. </p>
<p>Conspiracy theories about microchips in humans have been around for years; some of these theories originate from <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-your-pets-microchip-has-to-do-with-the-mark-of-the-beast-114493">an interpretation of a Bible passage</a>.</p>
<h2>Conspiracy theories</h2>
<p>Clickbait headlines and social media hashtags have been making the rounds with increasing frequency in the last few months, describing the fears and conspiracy theories about the involuntary microchipping of people. The latest incarnation of these doomsday prophecies suggests that <a href="https://biohackinfo.com/news-bill-gates-id2020-vaccine-implant-covid-19-digital-certificates/">tech billionaire Bill Gates will employ microchips to fight COVID-19</a>.</p>
<p>The article was inspired by a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fksnbf/im_bill_gates_cochair_of_the_bill_melinda_gates/">Reddit Ask me Anything thread with Gates</a> on March 18 that focused on a single phrase: digital certificates. Conspiracy theorists started to make sensational predictions about microchips as a feasible solution to identification verification issues and authenticating vaccination status. </p>
<p>The proliferation of online <a href="https://ca.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN21I3EC">media articles</a> and <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/conspiracy-theory-misinterprets-goals-of-gates-foundation/">posts</a> debunking the claim that Gates plans to surreptitiously implant microchip tracking devices into people as part of a COVID-19 vaccine reinforced the conspiracy theorists. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hLc_7CnWkxw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">PBS explores both sides of the microchipping debate.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Controlling choices</h2>
<p>These recent conspiracy theories of enforced and involuntary chip implants led me to consider why some people are worried about having computer chips embedded in their bodies against their will.</p>
<p>The answer lies in perceived body autonomy. </p>
<p>Research in 2017 showed a quarter of the American population believed in conspiracy theories and are these beliefs are <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-drawn-to-conspiracy-theories-share-a-cluster-of-psychological-features/">driven by feelings of anxiety, alienation and disenfranchisement</a>. </p>
<p>The right to govern one’s body and what is done to it by others, is not a privilege held by everyone. This realization can come as a surprise to those who want to modify their bodies with technological implants for convenience, fun or experimentation.</p>
<p>Members of historically marginalized groups — <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/WomensAutonomyEqualityReproductiveHealth.pdf">women</a>, <a href="https://www.aaihs.org/triple-cripples-on-blackness-sexuality-disability-and-autonomy/">racialized people</a>, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/POL4012302019ENGLISH.PDF">queer people</a>, <a href="https://everydayfeminism.com/2016/09/disability-consent-and-autonomy/">disabled people</a> and <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/haircuts-a-lesson-on-body_b_9351096">children</a> — are not shocked at this lack of body autonomy. The state, <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/2020/01/women-activists-escalate-demand-bodily-autonomy-19-nations-dissent/">organizations</a> and medical communities have restricted, regulated and governed their bodies for hundreds of years.</p>
<h2>Cyborg autonomy</h2>
<p>One goal of my work is to highlight the struggle for body autonomy through the experience of the cyborg. The right to morphological freedom — to modify one’s body as one desires — is one aspect of body autonomy that cyborgs routinely face.</p>
<p>If cyborgs can win the right to alter their bodies by redefining the boundaries of acceptable body modification, then these rights can extend to other groups fighting for bodily integrity and autonomy. Collaboration with scholars and advocates in disability studies, queer and feminist studies, medical and legal scholars as well as human rights activists is an approach to take.</p>
<p>Recent news of <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/house-dems-call-investigation-forced-hysterectomy-claims-1532155">involuntary and forced sterilizations happening in detention camps run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)</a> is horrific and illustrates just one of the abuses of body autonomy that a government can inflict on people — citizens or otherwise. </p>
<h2>Cyborg consent</h2>
<p>Implanted chips are not useful for covert surveillance or monitoring. Current available microchip technology is not capable of tracking people’s locations. There are no batteries or GPS transmitters both powerful and small enough to be safely and unobtrusively embedded in our bodies without our knowledge. </p>
<p>There is no need for governments or other shadowy organizations popular with conspiracy theorists to embed tracking devices inside human bodies as our smartphones already perform this function. Most smartphone users signed away any expectation to privacy with various apps and location services long ago. </p>
<p>People say they can always leave their phones at home, but do they really? It feels as though <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020580">you’re missing a part of yourself when you don’t know where your phone is</a>. The feeling in the pit of your stomach, you pat your pockets, reaffirming your loss through contact with your body. It is already a part of body construct.</p>
<p>I do not worry that I will be implanted with a chip without my knowledge but I am very concerned that people may one day be implanted without their consent. </p>
<p>I worry chips may be used for overt, unethical suppression of movement by governments. It is why the right to body autonomy must be a legally declared, international human right upheld by courts and governments around the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127089/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tamara P Banbury received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council during the course of her master's research. </span></em></p>An increasing number of people are choosing to implant themselves with microchips. But conspiracy theories about the practice exploit fears surrounding body autonomy.Tamara P Banbury, PhD Student, Communication and Media Studies, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1300842020-01-29T13:37:51Z2020-01-29T13:37:51ZCompulsory cat microchipping is great in theory – but the system is flawed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312279/original/file-20200128-81346-8c7o74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3212%2C2041&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-three-little-kittens-together-studio-162578666">Shutterstock/Cherry-Merry</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2015/9780111125243">dog microchipping</a> became a legal requirement in England and Wales in April 2016, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/05/cat-microchipping-should-be-compulsory-too-say-charities/">calls to extend</a> the law to other pets were rejected. However, compulsory microchipping is now back on the political agenda.</p>
<p>From October 2020 it will be <a href="https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/microchipping-and-passporting-your-horse?gclid=CjwKCAiA98TxBRBtEiwAVRLqu_sMzXH1f2949T82pqDtE7zTaAGws6TTuXbrWc-r7cb9RjGkWlY3_hoCBr8QAvD_BwE">mandatory</a> for all owners to microchip their horses, ponies and donkeys and register their details on a <a href="https://www.equineregister.co.uk/home">centralised database</a> . The government launched a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/microchipping-cats-in-england-call-for-evidence/cat-microchipping-in-england-call-for-evidence-document">consultation</a> in October 2019 on whether every owned cat should be chipped with keeper details and added to approved databases. </p>
<p>The charity <a href="https://www.cats.org.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/cats-protection-launches-petition-for-compulsory-microchipping-of-owned-cats">Cats Protection</a> insists that making microchipping compulsory for all owned cats is an “essential part of responsible pet ownership”. In theory, this is a great way of bringing missing and stolen cats home – but what will it really mean for cats and their owners? </p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.pdsa.org.uk/media/7420/2019-paw-report_downloadable.pdf">92%</a> of dogs now microchipped and a <a href="https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/about-us/publications/stray%20dogs%20report%202017-18%20final.pdf">15% decrease</a> in stray dogs reported, the mandatory system of identification and reunification has proven to be beneficial. There are, however, two major flaws with the current compulsory microchipping system: optional scanning, and the lack of a single database.</p>
<h2>Optional scanning</h2>
<p>Although it is compulsory to microchip dogs, veterinary professionals, animal rescues and local authorities are not required to scan the pets they come into contact with. Nor do they have to check microchips against details on a database or contact registered keepers if they do not match the person in possession of the animal. As a result, opportunities to reunite missing and <a href="https://theconversation.com/dog-theft-on-the-rise-how-in-danger-is-your-pet-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-125010">stolen pets</a> with owners are repeatedly missed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dog-theft-on-the-rise-how-in-danger-is-your-pet-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-125010">Dog theft on the rise: how in danger is your pet and what can be done about it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>An example is <a href="https://www.doglost.co.uk/dog-blog.php?dogId=58136">Clooney</a>, a microchipped Siamese cat stolen in June 2013. The database on which he is registered shows he was scanned twice in March 2018, yet the registered owner was not contacted and his location remains unknown. </p>
<p>His owner <a href="https://pettheftawareness.blogspot.com/2020/01/police-pets-and-microchip-scanners.html">Toni Clarke</a> later wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We microchip our pets with the expectation that it will provide them with a passport home so how can I reconcile myself to the irrefutable proof that Clooney is out there, has been identified as missing by whoever looked up his details on our database records and yet the only people who can obtain the information – the police – are letting this happen without serious challenge?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Furthermore, evidence of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9050209">rising dog theft</a> since microchipping became mandatory suggests that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/microchipping-your-pet-is-the-best-new-years-resolution-you-could-make">government claims</a> that compulsory cat chipping will “help tackle cat theft” has no foundation. </p>
<p>According to welfare groups such as <a href="https://www.catsmatter.org/">Cats Matter</a>, there is a wider issue for cats injured or killed in road traffic accidents. Under the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/170">Road Traffic Act 1988</a> drivers who hit a dog must report the incident, but this is not the case for cats. Alongside this, some councils dispose of dead cats without scanning them for microchips. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312297/original/file-20200128-81411-1out07a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312297/original/file-20200128-81411-1out07a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312297/original/file-20200128-81411-1out07a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312297/original/file-20200128-81411-1out07a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312297/original/file-20200128-81411-1out07a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312297/original/file-20200128-81411-1out07a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/312297/original/file-20200128-81411-1out07a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fern’s Law would make it compulsory for vets to scan all pets new to their practice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/handsome-male-doctor-veterinarian-examining-cute-760952164">Shutterstock/4 PM production</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This happened to microchipped Gizmo, whose owner Heléna Abrahams launched a <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2019-03-26/100-000-people-back-change-in-law-to-see-cat-owners-informed-if-pet-is-killed-on-the-uks-roads/">campaign</a> <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/229004">which calls for</a> compulsory scanning. Another campaign, <a href="https://www.change.org/p/fernslaw-update-the-current-pet-microchip-system-to-help-reunite-stolen-and-missing-dogs-and-cats">Fern’s Law</a>, would make it compulsory for vets to scan all pets that are new to their practice, and check the chip and associated record at the yearly health check. </p>
<h2>No single database</h2>
<p>Of the estimated <a href="https://www.pdsa.org.uk/get-involved/our-campaigns/pdsa-animal-wellbeing-report/uk-pet-populations-of-dogs-cats-and-rabbits?fbclid=IwAR1bSIRj1_PKMb59H-LCvIRMmrg6yW-Ytl4gIDmWdDXD_XJFvyomsSR5Svs">10.9 million cats</a> in the UK, 71% are chipped, which means around 3.2 million would need to be. The average cost of microchipping <a href="https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/microchipping-your-dog">is around £15</a> and databases charge an additional fee to update details.</p>
<p>There are currently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-microchipped">13 microchip databases</a> on the government list. As independent commercial enterprises they have different processes and no interest in creating a central standardised register. To confuse matters further, microchipping databases which do not meet government standards continue to trade, and often rank highly on search engines. If you register on an <a href="https://www.change.org/p/fernslaw-update-the-current-pet-microchip-system-to-help-reunite-stolen-and-missing-dogs-and-cats">unlisted database</a>, not only can you be fined £500 but your pet’s microchip will read as unregistered when scanned.</p>
<p>Although the <a href="https://www.bva.co.uk/take-action/our-policies/microchipping/">British Veterinary Association</a> (BVA) do not support compulsory scanning, it does think the database system must change. BVA President Daniella dos Santos <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-microchipping-system-failing-work-17595675">commented</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The microchip system as a whole is not fit for purpose. There are so many holes and gaps. And anybody can start up another database and there isn’t enough regulations. It is very complicated and it is a broken system.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Compulsory microchipping certainly has the potential to improve the identification and reunification of missing and stolen pets, but this potential can only be met if the current system is fixed. Optional scanning and competing commercial databases are currently letting down microchipped pets and their responsible owners. With this in mind, compulsory cat chipping presents an excellent opportunity for the government to work towards compulsory scanning by animal professionals and councils, and a single accessible register for cats and dogs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130084/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Allen is a patron of the Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance (Sampa). The government petitions to 'Reclassify the theft of a pet to a specific crime in its own right' and 'Pet Theft Reform: Amend animal welfare law to make pet theft a specific offence' were created in his name. </span></em></p>Compulsory microchipping has the potential to improve the identification and reunification of missing and stolen pets, but this potential can only be met if the current system is fixed.Daniel Allen, Animal Geographer, Keele UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1144932019-04-03T10:47:30Z2019-04-03T10:47:30ZWhat your pet’s microchip has to do with the Mark of the Beast<p>An almost invisible electronic device used all over the world – best known to much of the public for helping reunite lost pets and their owners, but also found in subway cards, electronic tolling, luggage tags, passports and warehouse inventory systems – has alarmed some evangelical Christian communities, who see in this technology the work of the Antichrist.</p>
<p>In a section of “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/billion-little-pieces">A Billion Little Pieces</a>,” my 2019 book about Radio Frequency Identification chips, also known as RFID chips, I investigate why these tiny items have, in some religious circles, become closely linked with the apocalypse depicted in the biblical Book of Revelation. The reasons are more connected with modern concerns than you might expect.</p>
<h2>What is RFID?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266918/original/file-20190401-177196-urbjps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">RFID chips can be small and flexible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RFID_Chip_003.JPG">Maschinenjunge/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For starters, RFID technology is a method of wirelessly, digitally identifying objects – like luggage, cars or subway passes – that often does not require any internal power source. A small chip is inserted into or attached to an item to be identified – like a duffel bag or a toll pass transponder. It does nothing until it passes near an RFID reader, which can be a few inches away for passports, or several feet away as in highway toll barriers. The reader emits a specific radio frequency that activates the chip, which then transmits its digital identification code.</p>
<p>The chips, also called tags, are just about everywhere. <a href="https://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/rfid-forecasts-players-and-opportunities-2018-2028-000642.asp">About 10 billion tags</a> were used around the world in 2018 alone. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2017/05/15/is-the-rfid-retail-revolution-finally-here-a-macys-case-study/#13f995bd3294">Retailers – especially clothing stores</a> – are a potentially huge market that has begun to adopt RFID systems to monitor inventory and to prevent theft.</p>
<p>Many domestic pets are <a href="https://blog.atlasrfidstore.com/low-frequency-rfid-and-animal-identification">microchipped with RFID</a>, encoding information that helps them reunite with their owners if they get lost. Some humans have also chosen to <a href="https://www.dangerousthings.com">microchip themselves</a> so their bodies can wirelessly communicate with identification systems – and that’s where the evangelicals get upset.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266922/original/file-20190401-177181-db91p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The people at the right of the illumination are receiving the Mark of the Beast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Beast_from_the_Earth_Killing_People_and_People_Receiving_the_Mark_of_the_Beast_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg">Getty Center/Google Cultural Institute/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Mark of the Beast</h2>
<p>What does a chip implant have to do with the Bible? Believers see echoes of RFID chips in a short passage in the Book of Revelation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“[The beast] <a href="https://biblia.com/bible/nkjv/Rev.%2013.16-17">causes all, both small and great</a>, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This passage is the origin of beliefs around what would eventually become known as the “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast#Mark_of_the_Beast">Mark of the Beast</a>,” a way to identify those who worship the Antichrist. More than 15 years ago, <a href="https://www.wired.com/2006/06/rfid-sign-of-the-end-times/">some evangelicals began linking RFID to the mark</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=901&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266914/original/file-20190401-177163-g5xe0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1132&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A doctor implants an RFID chip in a patient’s hand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr_Mark_Gasson_has_an_RFID_microchip_implanted_in_his_left_hand_by_a_surgeon_(March_16_2009).jpg">Paul Hughes/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My research has found that they made the connection for two main reasons. First, when biohackers chip themselves, they typically put the RFID chip into the palm of one hand because it’s easy to wave that at sensors to open doors or process payments, and the scripture specifically mentions the mark on a person’s hand. In addition, some people have injected RFID chips containing <a href="https://boingboing.net/2016/07/15/biohacking-for-newbies-all-yo.html">credit card payment information</a>, which calls to mind to the payment methods mentioned in the Bible. </p>
<p>These links spread in some evangelical communities throughout the 2000s, with many articles published <a href="https://endtimestruth.com/mark-of-the-beast/rfid/">on religious sites about RFID</a>. The authors of a best-selling book about RFID and surveillance – “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299110/spychips-by-katherine-albrecht/9780452287662/">Spychips</a>” – published an <a href="https://www.thomasnelson.com/9781418551759/the-spychips-threat/">alternative version</a> targeted at evangelical Christians that included added passages about the Book of Revelation. The main RFID industry publication even published <a href="https://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?2543">a refutation of those claims</a>. </p>
<p>In the years since, the connection between RFID and the mark has remained prominent. In 2017, a Wisconsin company offered to pay for its employees to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/11/three-square-market-ceo-explains-its-employee-microchip-implant.html">get RFID implants</a> – if they voluntarily chose to. The company’s Google business listing was flooded with more than 100 <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2017/08/09/you-get-chipped-eventually/547336001/">one-star reviews</a>, many of which said it was a sin to use RFID as a form of identification or payment. Some of them were specific about what was wrong, saying the company was “doing the dirty work for Satan himself” and urging employees to “read your Bible. This is the first sign of the mark of the beast.”</p>
<h2>Does it really matter?</h2>
<p>It’s more than just a curiosity that evangelical Christians have linked RFID to the apocalypse. Evangelicals are a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/us/religion-politics-evangelicals.html">major force in American culture and politics</a>, and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/29/the-religious-divide-on-views-of-technologies-that-would-enhance-human-beings/">their views on technology</a> are often underreported. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266906/original/file-20190401-177184-divc0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Readers mounted above the highway track RFID chips in cars passing beneath them, charging drivers for tolls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pov-driving-forward-view-passing-highway-1059644582">BrandonKleinVideo/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In addition, they’re expressing concern about an increasingly ubiquitous technology, similar to objections raised by privacy advocates that have actually <a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/2563700/metro-store-bows-to-pressure-from-anti-rfid-activists.html">changed corporate policies</a> in the past. </p>
<p>Most people probably don’t agree that RFID represents the Mark of the Beast. But the roots of that concern do raise interesting questions about the merging of human bodies and computing. The religious fear that every person might need to be physically tagged to pay for things and move freely shares a lot with the concerns expressed by <a href="https://www.eff.org/issues/rfid">more mainstream privacy advocates</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, there’s something poetic about linking a tiny technology used to identify rescue dogs in a shelter to the Mark of the Beast. After all, there’s likely no more consequential type of identification than the differentiation of the damned from the redeemed.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248895/original/file-20181204-133100-t34yqm.png?w=128&h=128">
<div>
<header>Jordan Frith is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/billion-little-pieces">A Billion Little Pieces: RFID and Infrastructures of Identification</a></p>
<footer>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MIT Press provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.</span></em></p>Tiny electronic items can identify pets, clothes and even people. Evangelical Christians aren’t the only people worried about what this technology might mean.Jordan Frith, Associate Professor of Technical Communication, University of North TexasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1072212018-11-22T11:20:42Z2018-11-22T11:20:42ZMicrochip implants are threatening workers’ rights<p>It’s not often trades unions and employers are equally worried about an issue threatening workers’ rights. But recently, the UK’s Trades Union Congress and the main body that represents British businesses, the CBI, have both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/11/alarm-over-talks-to-implant-uk-employees-with-microchips">voiced concerns</a> about the budding practice of implanting employees with microchips.</p>
<p>Initially, the chips are being used in place of ID cards as a way of opening secure doors. But there’s good reason to think the use of implants could expand to more sinister purposes, giving employers much greater control over their workers and raising serious concerns over issues related to human dignity, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-006-9124-0">ethics</a> and health.</p>
<p>Businesses often do need some way to monitor employees to be sure they are completing their work and how much they should be paid. But in recent years, we’ve seen some more extreme monitoring methods that push at the boundaries of personal privacy. These include <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/02/18/firms-step-monitoring-employee-activities-work/2l5hoCjsEZWA0bp10BzPrN/story.html">surveillance of employee emails</a>, wearable technology that can <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/tesco-accused-of-using-electronic-armbands-to-monitor-its-staff-8493952.html">track employee movements</a>, and <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/every-stitch-you-make-divergent-effects-monitoring-technology">radio tags</a> on factory products that allow bosses to monitor how fast workers on an assembly line are operating. But implanting microchips in employees creates a new level of monitoring and control simply because workers can’t easily remove them or turn them off. </p>
<p>Microchip implants are typically the size of a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/07/25/technology-company-microchips-staff-can-clock-without-ids/">grain of rice</a> inserted under the skin between the thumb and the forefinger. They can allow people to enter buildings or use vending machines with just the swipe of their hand. Proponents say this makes life <a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-swedes-are-inserting-microchips-into-themselves-heres-why-97741">more convenient</a> as employees don’t have to carry ID badges or key fobs. Organisations that deal with sensitive information also say that such chips allow them to <a href="https://medium.com/cxo-magazine/microchipping-workers-is-a-thing-should-it-be-e74ea1de7cb9">set restrictions</a> on who can access this information.</p>
<h2>Not so innocuous</h2>
<p>Most companies using these chips present them in this fairly innocuous way and think the fear surrounding their use arises from <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/09/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-microchip/570946/">misplaced suspicions</a>. But too much monitoring can make employees feel spied on, damaging their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00236561003654776">productivity, creativity and motivation</a> as well as their personal well-being.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-technology-assessment-in-health-care/article/implanting-inequality-empirical-evidence-of-social-and-ethical-risks-of-implantable-radiofrequency-identification-rfid-devices/49E51218E1788D79B5F209C045FE56CB">research also suggests</a> that implanted chips are susceptible to security risks and increase the potential for identity theft given that it is relatively easy to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/microchips-privacy-implants-biohacking/">hack a microchip implant</a>. So employees could be subjected to something that actually threatens their personal security.</p>
<p>What’s more, employers’ motivations for introducing chip implants are unlikely to be entirely altruistic. There is nothing to stop them from using the technology to track employees’ whereabouts or activities outside work. The chips can be reprogrammed <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/614209/IPOL_STU(2018)614209_EN.pdf">while inside the body</a>, modifying their use and purpose from what might have initially been agreed between the employer and the employee. And this ability to track an employee’s location without their knowledge raises serious ethical concerns regarding their right to privacy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Workers are increasingly monitored, tracked and surveilled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cctv-surveillance-operating-office-building-214426324?src=PnL3Uzb7Ys4R7Wbu5t6N1w-1-1">Vasin Lee/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We’ve already seen how employers can use data ostensibly gathered for benign purposes to discriminate against workers. For example, personality tests designed to assess what job someone is most suited to have come under scrutiny for discriminating against people with <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/are-workplace-personality-tests-fair-1412044257">mental health issues</a>. Microchip implant data recording where employees go outside of work could be used to discriminate in similar ways.</p>
<p>Even if implants are technically voluntary, it’s not hard to imagine situations where employees might feel pressured to accept the chips by their managers or warned of unfavourable consequences if they don’t agree. Other increasingly intrusive forms of monitoring are already seen as an inescapable reality within many workplaces. For example, remote access to emails means some workers are expected to be on call at any time. This increases pressure on employees to work longer hours at the expense of their private lives, as well as creating another way for employers to track their activities.</p>
<p>Employees who choose to opt-out of company monitoring programs can also suffer real financial costs. In 2013, a pharmacy company launched a controversial health-screening program that <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/cvs-workers-insurance_n_2915006">allegedly required employees</a> to disclose personal information to their insurance provider and threatened to charge them US$600 a year if they refused. This kind of pressure can mentally condition workers to think that constant monitoring is the way forward.</p>
<h2>Health risks</h2>
<p>There is also limited information about the safety and health risks associated with the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18802863">use of chip implants</a>. As well as potential physical health risks, it is equally important for employers to understand the risks that microchip implants might pose to mental health. Employees receiving an implant might feel coerced to modify their usual behaviours because they know they are always being monitored and so experience high levels of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/000368709290005G">stress and anxiety</a>. Plus we don’t know very much about what kind of surgical intervention might be required to safely remove a chip, especially if it moves away from its initial implant site. </p>
<p>The good news is that in many developed countries, companies are expected to afford employees some level of privacy. In the EU, <a href="https://theconversation.com/gdpr-ground-zero-for-a-more-trusted-secure-internet-95951">new data protection legislation (GDPR)</a> means employers are expected to conduct privacy impact assessments when they engage in processes that represent a high risk to the rights of data subjects. Covert monitoring should only be carried out in exceptional cases when there is no other reasonable way to monitor employees. </p>
<p>This means that due to the concerns about the risks to privacy as well as health and security posed by chip implants any attempt to introduce them on a larger scale would likely face strong legal challenges. But that probably won’t stop some employers seeing what they can get away with at a time when it’s increasingly common to let private companies know almost everything about us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shainaz Firfiray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Seemingly innocuous security chips could enable companies to monitor employees in more sinister ways.Shainaz Firfiray, Associate Professor of Organisation and Human Resource Management, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/969842018-06-27T19:59:43Z2018-06-27T19:59:43ZEven a microchipped pet can be lost if your data is out of date<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220700/original/file-20180529-80650-1lwcnb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pets are beloved family members. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/girls-sleep-cats-dogs-631869404?src=3SXkH_Dzzcyyw_GsZLKDsA-1-50">from www.shutterstock.com </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>From July 1st 2018, every <a href="http://kb.rspca.org.au/is-microchipping-mandatory-for-cats-and-dogs_287.html">state and territory</a> of Australia (excluding the Northern Territory) will have laws making microchipping cats and dogs compulsory. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/goodliving/posts/2018/03/microchipping-pets">South Australia</a> is the latest state to make microchipping mandatory, part of a series of reforms aimed at increasing responsible pet ownership. </p>
<p>Microchipping – and appropriate use of associated databases – can help you keep track of your pets, and aid governments in tracking down unethical animal breeding practices. But data must be kept up to date. </p>
<p>A microchip is only as good as the information it unlocks. If you move, change your phone number or transfer ownership of your pet, update your pet’s microchip registry details. A lost animal with out-of-date microchip details is no more identifiable than a stray animal with no ID. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-ways-having-a-pet-increases-your-lifespan-88640">Four ways having a pet increases your lifespan</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/05SHNfbpXwA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">After watching this, make sure to check your pet’s microchip details are up to date.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Smaller than a rice grain</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220699/original/file-20180529-80640-71nb68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220699/original/file-20180529-80640-71nb68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220699/original/file-20180529-80640-71nb68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220699/original/file-20180529-80640-71nb68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220699/original/file-20180529-80640-71nb68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220699/original/file-20180529-80640-71nb68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220699/original/file-20180529-80640-71nb68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Could you stop panting, please?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/ppKcYi1CXcI">Anusha Barwa on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A pet microchip is an implant smaller than a grain of rice, inserted under the skin of an animal. It is inactive until a microchip scanner is passed over the microchip, completing an electric circuit and allowing a message to be passed to the scanner. The message is a unique number which allows permanent identification of the animal. </p>
<p>Microchips are implanted by an authorised implanter, though the definition of “authorised” varies across each state and territory. </p>
<p>Generally, implanters have to complete an <a href="http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/pets/registration-legislation-and-permits/Microchipping-of-Dogs,-Cats-and-Horses/microchipping-information-for-authorised-implanters#anchor1">approved course</a> and include veterinarians, veterinary nurses and council officers. Once authorised, the implanter will be given a licensing number to allow completion of paperwork and grant access to databases containing owner information. </p>
<p>Microchipping of pets is an important part of being a responsible owner. It indicates ownership, allowing lost, stray or stolen pets to be reunited with their owners. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-selling-pets-online-becomes-normal-we-need-to-regulate-it-91478">As selling pets online becomes normal, we need to regulate it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Databases are complex</h2>
<p>In an ideal world, all lost dogs and cats would be reunited with their owners through their microchip. However, while the microchips are relatively simple, the databases used to maintain the records of the microchipped animals are more complicated.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220701/original/file-20180529-80653-w088aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220701/original/file-20180529-80653-w088aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220701/original/file-20180529-80653-w088aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220701/original/file-20180529-80653-w088aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220701/original/file-20180529-80653-w088aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220701/original/file-20180529-80653-w088aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220701/original/file-20180529-80653-w088aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s nice inside the house.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/dD75iU5UAU4">Alexis Chloe on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are currently eight <a href="http://kb.rspca.org.au/index.php?View=entry&EntryID=500">databases</a> in Australia, with six privately owned and two state government owned. </p>
<p>The privately owned databases have developed a website called <a href="http://www.petaddress.com.au/">Pet Address</a>, which allows someone to look up a pet’s microchip number and be directed to the database which owns the information. </p>
<p>However, the two state government registries are not part of this website. This means that approved implanters still have to search across multiple databases for your pet’s details, increasing the risk for human error. </p>
<p>It can also lead to situations where animals that are microchipped are unable to be identified. For example, if a dog was microchipped in NSW, but then moves to QLD, vets in QLD would be unable to access the client’s details as only NSW authorised implanters can access this data. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-ways-to-protect-your-pets-in-an-emergency-83484">Seven ways to protect your pets in an emergency</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>New system for dogs and cats</h2>
<p>The system being set up by the South Australian government, called Dogs and Cats Online [<a href="http://www.dogandcatboard.com.au/dogs-and-cats-online/">DACO</a>] will include dog and cat microchip numbers. It also combines the dog registers of 69 councils as well as the new SA dog and cat breeder register and existing databases on accredited assistance dogs and dog attacks. </p>
<p>One advantage of DACO is entering and changing details will be free for pet owners. Changing details on the private systems may involve a fee, which can mean owners are less likely to update them.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220703/original/file-20180529-80637-17tut8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220703/original/file-20180529-80637-17tut8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220703/original/file-20180529-80637-17tut8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220703/original/file-20180529-80637-17tut8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220703/original/file-20180529-80637-17tut8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220703/original/file-20180529-80637-17tut8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220703/original/file-20180529-80637-17tut8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We love you. And your treats.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/CdK2eYhWfQ0">Jay Wennington on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In developing its new DACO system, the <a href="http://www.dogandcatboard.com.au/">SA Dog and Cat Management Board</a> has worked through the access that each user will require. While it is an advantage to quickly be able to identify a dog or cat when they are lost, there are also privacy issues with unlimited access to the database. </p>
<p>Many vets and shelters have suggested DACO be integrated with the other six microchip databases in Pet Address. However, this also has privacy implications. </p>
<p>Should a council or shelter in Victoria have access to the personal information of pets owners in SA? Can the two systems be synchronised in a limited way, so that a search on one system will only let the searcher know which database the information is stored on? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cat-plague-is-back-after-nearly-40-years-in-hiding-heres-what-you-need-to-know-91234">Cat plague is back after nearly 40 years in hiding – here's what you need to know</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Tracking pets is useful</h2>
<p>Some state governments are using microchips beyond their original intended purpose. For example, in <a href="https://qdbr.daf.qld.gov.au/information/buying-a-dog/">Queensland</a> all dogs born after May 2017 are now required to have a Supply Number attached to their microchip number. When an approved implanter fills out the microchipping paperwork of a dog in Queensland, the Supply Number is also included, linking the animal to its former owner (breeder) and current owner. This will allow tracking of unethical breeding practices.</p>
<p>Compliance with microchipping laws, even in states which have had them for many years, can be poor. For example, the <a href="http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/sl/2001-17/current/pdf/2001-17.pdf">ACT</a> has had compulsory microchipping for all dogs and cats by 12 weeks of age since 2001. Despite this, data presented at a recent conference indicated only 68% of adult dogs and 23% of adult cats entered the RSPCA ACT shelter microchipped. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-can-you-tell-if-your-cat-is-happy-and-likes-you-82834">Curious Kids: How can you tell if your cat is happy and likes you?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>All of the concerns around databases and privacy with microchips are heavily outweighed by the benefits to pets and their owners. Pets that are microchipped with up to date contact details are far more likely to be reunited with their owners, as shown by a <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/5/2/332">Queensland study</a>. </p>
<p>After you’ve finished reading this, take the time to look up your pet’s microchip details and ensure they are up to date. You might just save your pet’s life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bronwyn Orr works as a Scientific Officer for RSPCA Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Hazel is a Board Member of the Dog & Cat Management Board of South Australia.</span></em></p>After you’ve finished reading this, take the time to ensure your dog or cat’s microchip details are up to date. It might just save your pet’s life.Bronwyn Orr, Veterinarian and PhD candidate, University of SydneySusan Hazel, Senior Lecturer, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/977412018-06-20T11:24:23Z2018-06-20T11:24:23ZThousands of Swedes are inserting microchips into themselves – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223799/original/file-20180619-126534-13us1v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chips with everything.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/electronic-circuit-boardmotherboard-digital-chip-1115373287?src=zLh03nI7clFy_pGluGPKwg-1-96">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Thousands of people in Sweden <a href="https://futurism.com/sweden-microchip-trend/">have inserted microchips</a>, which can function as contactless credit cards, key cards and even <a href="https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/har-skjuts-tagbiljetten-in-under-huden">rail cards</a>, into their bodies. Once the chip is underneath your skin, there is no longer any need to worry about misplacing a card or carrying a heavy wallet. But for many people, the idea of carrying a microchip in their body feels more dystopian than practical. </p>
<p>Some have suggested that Sweden’s strong welfare state may be the cause of this recent trend. But actually, the factors behind why roughly 3,500 Swedes have had microchips implanted in them are more complex than you might expect. This phenomenon reflects Sweden’s unique biohacking scene. If you look underneath the surface, Sweden’s love affair with all things digital goes much deeper than these microchips. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5RSxfMYnah4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">New ways to pay.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The term biohackers refers to those amateur biologists who conduct experiments in biomedicine, but do so outside of traditional institutions – such as universities, medical companies and other scientifically controlled environments. Just as computer hackers hack computers, biohackers hack anything biological. </p>
<p>Biohacking is also a culture and a diverse one, with many different subgroups – all with different types of interests, goals and ideologies. But within this diversity there are two main groups: “wetware hackers” and transhumanists.</p>
<p>Wetware hackers are citizen science hobby biologists who build laboratory equipment from household utensils. They conduct so called “frugal science”, where they find inexpensive solutions that will <a href="https://18.re-publica.com/en/session/hacking-ivory-tower-towards-lab-equipment-common-good">improve the living standards</a> for people in developing countries. But they also do more playful experiments where plants are genetically modified to <a href="https://makezine.com/2013/05/16/diy-synthetic-biology-making-your-own-glowing-plants">become fluorescent</a>, or algae is used to <a href="https://biologigaragen.org/portfolio/algae-bar/">make new types of beer</a>.</p>
<p>The other group are the transhumanists, who focus on enhancing and improving the human body – with the aim, in the long run, of improving the human race. Only through bettering ourselves – and escaping biological boundaries – will humans be able to compete with AI in the future. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/super-intelligence-and-eternal-life-transhumanisms-faithful-follow-it-blindly-into-a-future-for-the-elite-78538">Super-intelligence and eternal life: transhumanism's faithful follow it blindly into a future for the elite</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Often, different biohacking scenes reflect the different societies and cultures in which they develop. So, for example, European biohackers generally <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4884673/">differ from their North American counterparts</a>. North American groups are concerned with developing alternatives to the established healthcare practices. European groups, meanwhile, are more focused on finding ways of helping people in developing countries or engaging in <a href="https://www.hackteria.org/workshops/hackteria-moscow/">artistic bio-projects</a>. </p>
<p>But Swedish biohacking culture actually differs from the rest of Europe. Swedish biohackers are generally part of the transhumanist movement. And it is the transhumanists – or more specifically the subgroup “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2012/aug/19/grinders-cult-of-man-machin">grinders</a>” – who have been inserting <a href="http://biohacking.se/allt-om-rfid-implantat/">NFC chips</a> somewhere between the thumb and the index finger of thousands of Swedes. These are the same microchips that have been used for decades to track animals and packages. </p>
<h2>What is it about Sweden?</h2>
<p>So why are Swedes so happy to put microchips into their body? <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5726197/Would-microchip-SKIN-3-000-Swedes-electronic-tag-embedded-hands.html">One theory put forward</a> is that Swedes are more prone to sharing their personal details because of the way the Swedish social security system is structured. </p>
<p>This myth of the “naive Swede”, who innocently trusts the government and Sweden’s national institutions, is an exaggeration – which has even been noted by <a href="https://www.regeringen.se/contentassets/36ac21ea67094813b336115917e1bec5/images-of-sweden-abroad">the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs</a>. If it is part of the explanation, it is certainly not the whole truth. More convincing is the fact that in Sweden, people have a strong faith in all things digital. Swedish people have a deep belief in the positive potential of technology.</p>
<p>Over the past two decades, the Swedish government has invested heavily in technology infrastructure – and it shows. The Swedish economy is now largely based on digital export, digital services and digital tech innovations. And Sweden has become one of <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/the-reasons-why-sweden-is-a-hotbed-for-digital-innovation-1292681">the most successful countries</a> in the world at creating and exporting digital products. Notable companies, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/26/sweden-is-a-tech-superstar-from-the-north/">such as Skype and Spotify</a>, were founded in Sweden.</p>
<p>A belief in digital technology and a trust in its potential has strongly affected Swedish culture. And the transhumanist movement has built upon this. In fact, Sweden played an important part in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn1q_BWJ3Lk">formation of the transhumanist ideology</a>. The global transhumanist foundation <a href="https://humanityplus.org/about/">Humanity+</a> was co-founded by the Swede <a href="https://nickbostrom.com/papers/history.pdf">Nick Bostrom in 1998</a>. Since then, many Swedes have become convinced that they should be trying enhance and improve their biological bodies. </p>
<p>So as the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5726197/Would-microchip-SKIN-3-000-Swedes-electronic-tag-embedded-hands.html">world expresses shock</a> at the number of people being microchipped in Sweden, we should use this opportunity to delve deeper into Sweden’s remarkable relationship with all thing digital. After all, this latest phenomenon is just one manifestation of an underlying faith in technology that makes Sweden quite unique.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Moa Petersén does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sweden’s deep relationship with digital technology helps explain why its biohacking scene is so unique.Moa Petersén, Lecturer in Digital Culture, Lund UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.