Another “conspiracy theory” has been proved to be correct with the possibility that a microchip with details of a vaccination certificate can be placed under the skin.

This last week a company from Stockholm Sweden named Epicenter “The House of Digital Innovations” was to showcase a new subdermal implant for COVID-19 vaccination certificates.

The Chief Distribution Officer of Epicenter, Hannes Sjoblad said on Wednesday “Implants are very versatile technology that can be used for many different things, and right now it is very convenient to have COVID passport always accessible on your implant.”

According to Sjoblad, “this is handy in case your phone runs out of battery, it’s always accessible to you. So of course, that’s how we use this technology today, next year we are going to use it for something else,”

Near Field Communication

The implant consists of a Near Field Communication (NFC) implant which is a set of communication protocols for communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm.  The data contained in the sub-dermal microchip can therefore be retrieved with a reader device such as an NFC compatible smartphone.

This is not some futuristic technology either, many of us use it already on a daily basis due to NFC compatible smartphones that function and operate on Android 2.3.3 operating system or newer allowing us to make payments with our smartphones.  

The technology has also been used as virtual collar plates for pets and some companies use them to track deliveries, and the Swedish company Epicenter has in fact been using the technology for years to routinely tag and track their own employees.

https://t.co/hcc785Ihq3

Originally tweeted by Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) on December 17, 2021. “NEW – Sweden-based Epicenter proudly presents an implanted chip that can “conveniently” hold your vaccination status “always accessible.”

Right Here, Right Now – Another Cyborg is Created

The Independent had reported in 2017 that the then startup hub offered to implant its workers and members with microchips the size of a grain of rice that function as swipe cards: to open doors, operate printers, or buy smoothies with a wave of the hand “The syringe slides in between the thumb and index finger. Then, with a click, a microchip is injected in the employee’s hand. Another “cyborg” is created” they said

A Co founder and CEO of Epicenter, Patrick Mesterton, said at this time “The biggest benefit I think is convenience, It basically replaces a lot of things you have, other communication devices, whether it be credit cards or keys.

These benefits clearly made the injections very popular among the workers who were said to have held parties for those willing to get implanted with the microchips. One 25-year-old worker 25, who works for Eventomatic, an events company that works with Epicenter, has had three piercings before,.”I want to be part of the future,” she laughed.

It would appear that the technological advances which have led to the “Internet of things” has been normalised for many younger people, that they now have no qualms about the blurring of the lines of humans and artificial intelligence, although to others this is only something that belongs in a dystopian movie.

Privacy Concerns

However, there are privacy implications as Ben Libberton, a microbiologist at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute, said back in 2017, “hackers could conceivably gain huge swathes of information from embedded microchips. The ethical dilemmas will become bigger the more sophisticated the microchips become”.

“The data that you could possibly get from a chip that is embedded in your body is a lot different from the data that you can get from a smartphone,” he says. “Conceptually you could get data about your health, you could get data about your whereabouts, how often you’re working, how long you’re working if you’re taking toilet breaks, and things like that.”

Hannes Sjoblad says, “Now the difference with the implant up here that picks up my health data, it’s private, and it needs to be paired with a special smartphone, with a special app, so it’s only myself who can read the chip implant right here, whereas this one down here (the COVID passport) is accessible to anyone.

But ultimately I control these devices, I can lock them, I can make them accessible or not accessible if I want to.” (source)

These days technologies can affect every aspect of our lives, we have already been made aware of the potential risks to our privacy that our smartphones and numerous gadgets can bring, why would we so readily accept something as intimate as a chip being inserted into our bodies?

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is Here

No doubt Klaus Schwab the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum will be jumping for joy at how readily some people will accept his plan which is to “unlock the potential of cutting edge technologies to transform society.” Schwab himself can see the potential privacy issues of the growth of the Internet of Things.

Although even Schwab admits to there being questions relating to data ownership, accuracy, and privacy protection, which he says are taking on ever greater importance.

According to Schwab “In an interconnected world where electric grids, public infrastructure, vehicles, homes, and workplaces are capable of being accessed and controlled remotely, the vulnerability to cyber-attacks and the potential for these security breaches to cause serious harm are unprecedented” (source).

Do We Want To Risk Our Privacy?

So our own data that is carried around everywhere we go can potentially cause us harm. Those with a reader can get access to our medical data unless of course, we know how to turn it off, but will know how to do this? Our movements can be tagged, our employers can tell if we are “pulling a sickly” but really out shopping, they can also tell how long our breaks have been, how many times we’ve gone for a wee, etc.

In the wrong hands, the technology can be a risk to our personal safety, stalking will become far easier for those with the technical know-how. This will make the chip a serious safety concern when it comes to them being implanted into young people and children particularly., the very ones who will be sold on the idea and excited at the prospect of having cyborg abilities.

Again, the “conspiracy theorists” were right, there is the potential for a microchip being inserted into our bodies under the guise of our COVID vaccination status and as predicted, it poses some serious ethical and privacy concerns, but at least we can open doors with a wave of our bare hands! hey?