HUMAN MICROCHIP

The world has changed rapidly. There are new inventions each year. Some years ago, when the microchip first came on the scene, people began to speculate that someday they’d have a microchip containing all your personal info that they could slip under your skin and access with a simple scanner. Well, the casual speculation is over; they are here. According to medical-answers.org, “a human microchip implant is an integrated circuit device or RFID transponder encased in silicate glass and implanted in the body of a human being” (medical-answers). Educate-yourself.org stated that “microchips are tiny instruments that drive various functions of computers and other electronic equipment. They are about the size of a large B-B pellet. However, they are getting increasingly smaller” (Educate-yourself). The procedure to have a microchip installed is simple and painless. It is placed in the back of your upper arm and undetectable. In addition, you will be able to go to the doctor’s office to have this microchip placed in your body. Once the microchip is implanted your account profile will commence, and any modification or additions will be simple to make.

VeriChip Corporation is the first company to approve implantable microchip for humans. They said, 

About the size of a grain of rice, the microchip is inserted just under the skin and contains only a unique, 16-digit identifier. The microchip itself does not contain any other data other than this unique electronic ID, nor does it contain any Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking capabilities. And unlike conventional forms of identification, the Health Link cannot be lost, stolen, misplaced, or counterfeited. It is safe, secure, reversible, and always with you (Positiveid Corp). 

           Many say this microchip can help us many ways.  For example, when your child is kidnapped, when one needs to identify a dead body, and when the government is trying to track someone. According to ieet.org, “A survey conducted by the Future Foundation revealed that 75% of British parents would buy a device that kept track of their child’s movements” (Pellissier). Parents will not need to worry that much about if they children are safe or not with the microchip implanted in them. When a child is kidnap their parent or the police will know where he/she was taken to, and the kidnapping rate in the United States will drop tremendously.  

Furthermore, many accidents happen, and most of the times when someone dies in much brutally car accident it is very hard to identify the person body. With the human microchip in our bodies it will be much easier to identify the person, so they could tell his/her families. This chip can also track people with mentally disabled, psych patients, the elderly suffering from dementia, head injuries. Several of them tend to get lost when left alone; this microchip will be very good for them.

Another pro is that it will be easier on the government to track someone, especially people that are involve with frauds, and people that are doing illegal things. This will be better for solving crimes because the police could track people much faster and easier, therefore justice is will served faster. Medical records can be quickly located for a patient in the emergency room. It can also reduce the risk of dementia.

 Nevertheless, human microchip may seem like a reasonable idea, but that means no one will have privacy, and safety from the government anymore. Mark Rasch is the former head of the computer-crime unit of the U.S. Justice Department. He stated that, "It's going to be used in unintended ways by third parties _ not just the government, but private investigators, marketers, lawyers building a case against you ...” (Birotte Jr.). Everyone’s movement could be tracked.  Bad things like personal data being stolen or hacked could happen. Through this microchip people could hear your conversion and even record the conversation you are having.

 Admittedly, these microchips that are being implanted are wrong. One thing everyone needs is their own privacy. The government should not invade. If someone is doing something illegal, they will eventually found out someday because nothing evil is hidden under the sun. Implanting these chips in children can be good and also bad. Looking at the side where you are trying to keep them safe from bad people is understandable. But children need their own privacy too. Not every teenager wants their parents always knowing where they are, or what they are doing with their friends. If parents are always keeping track on their children whereabouts, these children will be forced to take out the microchip, or in more serious note commit suicide. We will become slaves to the government if everyone was to get the human microchip. However, I believe human microchips should be used only in certain situations.

Work Cited

Adachi, K. "Educate-yourself.”.

          N.p., 2007. Mon. 3 Sept 2012.

Birotte Jr., A. "Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section."

         Departmet of justice. N.p., 2010.

         Mon. 3 Sept 2012.

"Medical Answers Guide." Medical Answers Guide.

         N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2012.

Pellissier, H.. Human gps microchipping. N.p., 2011. Mon. 3 Sept 2012.

Positiveid corp. N.p., 2011. Mon. 3 Sept 2012.

Ramesh, E.. "Time Enough? Consequences of Human Microchip Implantation.".

          N.p., 1994. Mon. 3 Sept 2012.