| SCENE
| November 9, 2004| Send features
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Ready to Go Digital
New technology makes vital information
available in an instant, but critics say privacy may be lost in
the process
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| The Shorthorn: |
| God with us. ^_^ |
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By Amber
Chisholm
The Shorthorn Staff
Staring ahead at jars of cotton balls and
a box of latex gloves on a counter, you notice the doctor standing
beside you. He anesthetizes your right arm, just above your elbow,
then, after a few minutes, takes a syringe and injects a small microchip
into your arm. The whole procedure takes less than 20 minutes, and
you’re out of there in no time.
You’ve officially been “chipped.”
Hospitals now have easy access to your medical records, police can
track you if you get kidnapped and you can do all your shopping
without your wallet.
Though some liken the scenario to a George Orwell novel, this is
not science-fiction.
It could soon be reality.
In October, The Food and Drug Administration approved an implantable
chip, known as the VeriChip, that provides doctors quick access
to medical information by just scanning a patient’s arm.
“It doesn’t sound good to me,” architecture senior
Emmanuel Ekeke said. “If you want to remain anonymous, the
government could still track you. They’ll say they’ll
use it for medical reasons, but they could use it for evil.”
But Applied Digital Solutions, the Florida company that owns and
distributes the VeriChip, feels the product has numerous possibilities
to improve people’s way of life. Supporters of the VeriChip
said it could not only help save lives in the hospital but also
be used to track lost children. The chip could even substitute identification,
passports and credit cards.
Many still aren’t sold on the idea of having a microchip implanted
in their bodies.
People cite privacy as a main concern, along with possible negative
physical reactions. Even Biblical implications have popped up among
conspiracy theorists.
Others, like professor Lawrence Holder, director of computer science
and engineering, think this is a good idea.
“For someone like a diabetic, it could be life-saving. If
it could save a life, it would get into society quickly,”
Holder said.
The VeriChip has already been used in Mexico’s attorney general’s
office, where 200 employees were implanted with the chip to access
secure areas. Club hoppers in Spain use the chip to speed up drink
orders and access VIP sections.
Applied Digital, which provides security products for individual
consumers and companies, markets the product as a medical device.
The chip, about the size of a grain of rice, contains a 16-digit
code that, when scanned, can provide immediate medical records to
doctors if a patient is unable to communicate.
The radio frequency identification microchip has been used to track
animals for years.
Holder said privacy concerns are a legitimate issue with the device.
“As soon as someone figures out a way to make something private,
someone figures out a way to break it. They have to make sure they
work hard to protect that information,” he said.
Some students are wary of potential negatives.
“I would feel intruded, like just another GPS number,”
economics senior Chuka Ikokwu said. “There’s probably
more good sides to it than bad, but I would still feel invaded.”
The VeriChip has received much attention in the month since its
FDA approval, and the Internet has been abuzz.
An 18-slide PowerPoint presentation on the chip connects the technology
with the end of days. But the company points out that chip implantation
is strictly voluntary and will not be used for invading people’s
privacy.
With the chip just now gaining prominence, it will be up to technology-hungry
Generation Y to decide whether being “chipped” is the
future, or whether it should be left to sci-fi novels.
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