Workers willing to be microchipped

We’ve officially entered Big Brother territory, with news that office workers in Sweden are being willingly implanted with microchips that provide access and amenities authorisation.

In a bid to remove swipe cards for entry and (eventually) EFTPOS and credit cards for financial transactions, tiny RFID chips have been embedded into the back of the hands of eager workers. The site of this slightly disturbing ‘advance’ is Epicenter, a shared innovation space located in Stockholm, Sweden.

The CEO and co-founder of Epicenter, Patrick Mesterton, is quoted on the news.com.au site as saying the chip is “just one of many innovative technologies and working models that will be pioneered at Epicenter”.

It’s probably no accident that a technology-focused facility is the first site to utilise RFID tracking for humans, but it’s hard to imagine a time when voluntary participation will be widespread.

Mesterton goes on to say, “It’s an implant in the hand that enables them to digitise professional information and communicate with devices both personal and within Epicenter. Once ‘chipped’ with this technology, members can interact with the building with a simple swipe of the hand. Chips can also be programmed to hold contact information and talk to smartphone apps.”

Proponents of the system include Hannes Sjoblad, ‘Chief Disruption Officer’ of Swedish biohacking group BioNyfiken, who insists that the aim is to make everyday life easier and that participants should feel as though they are part of a community.

There is no denying that the process simplifies the use of disparate systems with multiple (and often complex) passwords and PIN codes, but it still has a vaguely sinister window-to-our-dystopian-future air about it.

Social media response to the initiative is divided, naturally, and it is certainly too soon to tell where it will lead. Mesterton won’t speculate, but sees the potential across a range of applications and industries: “We can certainly see a lot practical ways in which this technology can be developed for humans. For instance, it could be developed to open cars and bikes, [used] instead of a conventional gym card and could also be applied in the field of medicine, to name a few.”