Abstract
This paper focuses on the controversial subject of the human biochip through science and technology. I do not discuss the ‘Mark of the Beast’ aspect or any religious side to the topic. Some of the biochip’s first uses are explored before a possible future scenario is played out; a few points of concern are addressed and then you are introduced to Professor Kevin Warwick. I then explain how the biochip is in use today mainly as an identification device and what some possible future uses may be, such as a source of information. The paper concludes with a comparison of peoples’ feelings concerning new technology through time.
Keywords: biochip, Professor Kevin Warwick
A great many things are considered controversial: the death penalty, animal testing, adoption, abortion, genetic engineering, and cloning are only a few of the many subjects out there that people argue about. The biochip is an ever growing controversy that is taking many scientific and technological leaps. Though the biochip has proven beneficial in helping scientists monitor protein levels and root out cancerous cells in the human body, it has a different facet I will currently be focusing on; as an identification and a potential information device.
The first use for the biochip was monitoring fisheries in the early 1980’s; it quickly moved to tagging pets, luggage, and monitoring mailed packages. Some chips are already in use in children’s backpacks and are a feature on some cellular phones, which enables parents to know where their child is at any given point in time. But the real controversy on this topic comes in with people’s concern about Big Brother. There are many misconceptions made about the biochip; some people may think that if they have one they can be found anywhere on the globe by satellite, everything about them can be found out in seconds, and that they will be controlled by the chip somehow.
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These statements are all untrue. The chip is so small it is only able to contain one alpha numeric series of digits to identify the holder of the chip; it doesn’t carry your name, your pin number, what car you drive, your address or anything other than the identification number. It doesn’t have enough power or range to be read or tracked by satellite. It can only be read by a scanner and only from a distance of two to twelve inches. And it in no way controls what people think or do; this concern mainly comes from conspiracy theorists.
Try to imagine, you’re shopping with your kids in a large store and you turn your back for one second. The next thing you know, your youngest child is no longer with you. Through the gut wrenching panic you register the fact that there are hundreds of people around, and any one of them could have taken your child without so much as a pause in their step. Now imagine that as you entered the store, there were scanners set up at the entrance that scanned everyone as they passed. Knowing this, all you have to do is alert security about your child’s absence and they will make sure your child is still in the store. What a relief knowing that your child can be found anywhere that has a scanner to read a biochip.
This scenario is still a few decades in the future, but seeing the benefits of such technology is easy. However, some downsides need to be taken into consideration as well. Say you or your child were kidnapped, what would stop the kidnapper from removing the biochip themselves to keep you or your child from being found? To keep that from happening, the biochip would have to be inserted under general anesthesia just to keep the chip safe from removal. But this process in itself is another concern; many people don’t agree with the thought of being ‘tracked’ in the first place; why would them being unconscious as the chip was placed make them feel any better?
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Even though many concerns can be quieted by the fact that no more information can be stored on the biochip than an identification number, who’s to say that will be the case in the future? With technology booming like it is, the next likely step in the biochip’s technology is to store more information on it. Soon, it may not be necessary to remember your car keys, your driver’s license, your social security number, or your ATM card. Before long it may be as easy as walking into a room for the lights to come on, the television to change channels, or the radio the change stations.
We already see subtle changes in the way information is stored. Smart cards are used with more regularity, there are chips in breast implants, pacemakers, artificial limbs, and artificial retinas, even paraplegics have had silicon brain implants able to control computers. Professor Kevin Warwick of the University Of Reading, England is the first human biochip implant recipient. “On 20 April 1998, Professor Warwick had a glass capsule about 23 millimeters long and 3 millimeters wide…inserted in his left arm. The chip, in conjunction with computer equipment in his house, turns lights on and off when he enters and exits (a) room, and gives him a spoken, running tally of the mail in his email box. The chip merely sends out an identifying signal…but (it) is still a step forward since his body has not rejected the foreign matter.” (Mamatas 2002).
It may be another decade before technology like Professor Warwick’s becomes an everyday item for everyday people, but it is easy to see how it may be as essential to us in the future as cell phones and computers are today. There are many uses and qualities in a biochip and they are already widely used in a vast number of applications: tracking cell phones, tagging pets, monitoring waste output in garbage bins in the UK, and the pharmaceutical companies are even starting to do research with the biochip technology to monitor protein levels. The next step seems to be human biochip implantation. (Chu 2005)
When you compare the hesitance people felt at the thought of the social security number when it was first introduced in 1935, you can see the similarity in the concern people feel about the biochip technology today. I believe the use of this technology can be a great asset to our society and way of life no matter what application is set to use. From identification to medical research, the benefits of the biochip technology far outweigh the few possible downsides worrying people now.
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References
Chu, Wai Lang (2005).
Preclinical Research, Biochip Technology Redefines Drug Discovery, Retrieved 12/16/2010 from, http://www.outsourcing-pharma.com/Preclinical-Research/Biochip-technology-redefines-drug-discovery Mamatas, Nick (2002).
Not Found, Kevin Warwick: Cyborg Professor, Retrieved 12/16/2010 from, http://old.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id174/pg1/index.html The University Of Reading: Professor Kevin Warwick. Retrieved 12/18/2010 from, http://www.kevinwarwick.com/index.asp
