Essay on Why You’re Probably Getting a Microchip Implant Someday

The technological developments today are exciting and interesting as they are continuously bringing new products in the commercial market and one of such technological achievements is the Radio Frequency Identification chip, also known as RFID. “Why you’re probably getting a microchip implant someday” is an article written by Haley Weiss, the author provides the views of different people who received RFID chip implants along with a brief picture of the future of RFID chips in society. The evidence provided by the author is based on the experience and the views of people from the field of business, medicine, and the wearers of RFID chips. The evidence and the potential of RFID chips enhance the possibility of RFID chip implants, which may help to improve the quality of life. However ethical issues surrounding the microchip implant need to be addressed.

The author has given an example of Patrick McMullen, the president of ‘Three Square Market’. McMullen was quite unimpressed but excited with the abilities of RFID chip implants in Sweden and the things it was able to achieve such as unlocking car doors and switching on coffee machines etc. only by waving hand, however, McMullen was more interested in the genuine functionality of the RFID chips such as Network security which he achieved by implanting a chip in 50 employee volunteers in his company (Weiss).

This technology is in existence for decades, for example, RFID ear tags are used for ranch livestock, for checked-in luggage in airlines, for pets, and even for credit cards. Despite its existence, there is a fear amongst people on microchip implants. According to the author, the fear of RFID chips implant has nothing to do with the RFID but the various studies surrounding the implants, few studies show that there might be a possible connection between cancer in laboratory animals and RFID transponders. Although, recent studies have proved the nonexistence of cancerous cells in humans due to microchip implants, moreover, study shows possible treatment of a cancerous tumor by using an embedded active RFID transponder (Weiss). The author also discusses the fear amongst the employees of Three-Square Market due to the possible tracking of the wearer, hacking of implanted chips, and the information that could be used in house burglaries. Some of the legislators even worked on passing the bill to prevent RFID implants by stating the possibility of death if ‘wearer’ exposed to the defibrillator or the MRI machines.

There are two sides to a coin, similarly, every technology has its benefits and limitations, or in this perspective disadvantages. From the ethical standpoint the main issue is workplace trust, should worker trust their company? We cannot deny the fact that the data could be misused by the company, but one should take all the precautions to understand the microchip being implanted in his or her body and then take the decision. In a positive light, the RFID implant not only provides an easy lifestyle but also can improve the quality of life by keeping track of the health of an individual (Kumar).

In the past, the law has changed depending on the widespread use of technology, similarly, the law will change regarding the RFID implants sooner or later. Thousands of people in Sweden are implanted with microchips and they are experiencing the new age of technology in their day-to-day activities (Rogers). Now, considering the ethical theory of welfarism, the RFID will improve the lifestyle in the coming years which will be more healthy, safe, with unlimited information and abilities.

Work cited

Kumar, Vikas. “Implantable RFID Chips Security Versus Ethics”. Asia-Pacific Institute of Management, 2010, pp. 145-146., Accessed 17 Oct 2018.

Rogers, Shelby. “Thousands Of Swedes Now Use Microchips For ID”. Interestingengineering.Com, 2018, https://interestingengineering.com/thousands-of-swedes-now-use-microchips-for-id. Accessed 17 Oct 2018.

Weiss, Haley. “Why You’re Probably Getting a Microchip Implant Someday”. theatlantic.com, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/09/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-microchip/570946/. Accessed 17 Oct 2018.