American company microchips employees..

ceadaoin.

And they're lining up for it voluntarily apparently.

On Aug. 1, employees at Three Square Market, a technology company in Wisconsin, can choose to have a chip the size of a grain of rice injected between their thumb and index finger. Once that is done, any task involving RFID technology — swiping into the office building, paying for food in the cafeteria — can be accomplished with a wave of the hand.

The program is not mandatory, but as of Monday, more than 50 out of 80 employees at Three Square’s headquarters in River Falls, Wis., had volunteered.

“It was pretty much 100 percent yes right from the get-go for me,” said Sam Bengtson, a software engineer. “In the next five to 10 years, this is going to be something that isn’t scoffed at so much, or is more normal. So I like to jump on the bandwagon with these kind of things early, just to say that I have it.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/technology/microchips-wisconsin-company-employees.html?


I have to say that last quote there sounds like a ridiculous reason to volunteer to be microchipped! Are people really that brain dead?

Will this become the norm in the future? Perhaps in the coming decades it might not be much of a choice. Seems a bit sinister to me and the start of a slippery slope. Would employees of AH volunteer for this? Reminds me of that bible quote about everyone needing the mark on their hand or head to buy and sell :eek:

Royal Irish

Woof

LirW

These people are engineers, they work with technologies like that every day. RFID has a range of around a meter. Do you have a debit cart and use the contactless ports in shops? There you go, this is pretty much all a chip like that can do. Clocking in, clocking out, doing minor payments. Think of it as a card under your skin instead of in your wallet.

Are Am Eye

ceadaoin. wrote: »

And they're lining up for it voluntarily apparently.

We are half way there already. Your phone, email, facebook and twitter etc

Reminds me of that bible quote about everyone needing the mark on their hand or head to buy and sell :eek:

Many scholars think 666 is Hebrew, gematria (coded system of numbers corresponding to letters) for caesar Nero. A way of criticising him without criticising him. You could not pursue a trade in Rome without certificate of sacrifice to Caesar. All documents had to have the imperial seal.

ceadaoin.

LirW wrote: »

These people are engineers, they work with technologies like that every day. RFID has a range of around a meter. Do you have a debit cart and use the contactless ports in shops? There you go, this is pretty much all a chip like that can do. Clocking in, clocking out, doing minor payments. Think of it as a card under your skin instead of in your wallet.

No contactless cards here in the US yet surprisingly. Chip and pin is a relatively new thing here too. I'd just be concerned it starts out fairly harmless and then evolves into something else. The article linked does raise these issues, tracking employees toilet breaks etc for example at the least sinister end of the spectrum

AllForIt

ceadaoin. wrote: »

No contactless cards here in the US yet surprisingly. Chip and pin is a relatively new thing here too. I'd just be concerned it starts out fairly harmless and then evolves into something else. The article linked does raise these issues, tracking employees toilet breaks etc for example at the least sinister end of the spectrum

No contactless in the US? Not on smartphones either? Blimey.

Anyway as for the microchips they do not have any kind of gps capability. Your smartphone does of course which ppl carry with them everywhere they go!

As for slippery slope it's hard enough to bring in mandatory ID cards so I'd say micro-chipped ppl is a very long way off unless there transpires some personal advantage to having one.

riffmongous

Why? What is the real benefit of this? You wave your hand instead of taking your card out of your wallet and waving your hand? Why an implant?

Stonedpilot

People laughed at the New World Order conspiratorial reseachers who warned us of this decades ago.

A microchipped slave race. No privacy, everything monitored, freedom and access determined by your chip type and coding, privledges on chips being turned off etc etc.

Astonishing People want this. So sad.

AllForIt

riffmongous wrote: »

Why? What is the real benefit of this? You wave your hand instead of taking your card out of your wallet and waving your hand? Why an implant?

It is being used in a work environment where workers need security clearance on computers or whatever. Instead of remembering complex passwords or swiping cards that could become faulty or that could be lost a chip is used instead as ID. So basically it speed things up and is probably more secure.

Wexfordboy89

AllForIt wrote: »

No contactless in the US? Not on smartphones either? Blimey.

Anyway as for the microchips they do not have any kind of gps capability. Your smartphone does of course which ppl carry with them everywhere they go!

As for slippery slope it's hard enough to bring in mandatory ID cards so I'd say micro-chipped ppl is a very long way off unless there transpires some personal advantage to having one.

Think you have to ask for a chip n pin card friend of mine lives in us had her card stolen.luckly she cancelled it before too much damage was done.she had to go.into.bank.to get new card I told her chip n pin are around for age s here

ceadaoin.

Wexfordboy89 wrote: »

Think you have to ask for a chip n pin card friend of mine lives in us had her card stolen.luckly she cancelled it before too much damage was done.she had to go.into.bank.to get new card I told her chip n pin are around for age s here

Chip and pin only came out in the past year or so and only for debit cards. not all customers have them yet. For credit cards, even though there's a chip you don't need a pin, a signature is still needed. Our cards have been compromised and reissued three or four times since living here. It's ridiculous really.

Stigura

Lovely. Here comes a new crime; Lopping off peoples hands .....

AllForIt

Stigura wrote: »

Lovely. Here comes a new crime; Lopping off peoples hands .....

I'm right handed so I'd have it put in my left just in case.

Wexfordboy89

ceadaoin. wrote: »

Chip and pin only came out in the past year or so and only for debit cards. not all customers have them yet. For credit cards, even though there's a chip you don't need a pin, a signature is still needed. Our cards have been compromised and reissued three or four times since living here. It's ridiculous really.

Ya thats what happened to her.her sister lost her card in a shop.as I said lucky she found out n cancelled it he had charged $500 on her card.worst of all the guy used the card in the shop her sister lost it in shop owner didnt ask for signature.

AllGunsBlazing

I'm always staggered when people try to rationalize or defend this kind of creepy ****. Cos yeah, it's just like a swipe card.... in your thumb.

ceadaoin.

AllForIt wrote: »

No contactless in the US? Not on smartphones either? Blimey.

Anyway as for the microchips they do not have any kind of gps capability. Your smartphone does of course which ppl carry with them everywhere they go!

As for slippery slope it's hard enough to bring in mandatory ID cards so I'd say micro-chipped ppl is a very long way off unless there transpires some personal advantage to having one.

A phone can be left behind, switched off or have the GPS disabled if you so wish. A bit different than having an implant inside your body.

Well if it becomes mandatory in certain companies to have one of these in order to have a job and earn money, I'd say that's a personal advantage! It says in the article that only 10 employees have opted not to get the chips. I wonder how long until they begin to feel the pressure to get them seeing as they are in the minority.

AllForIt

ceadaoin. wrote: »

A phone can be left behind, switched off or have the GPS disabled if you so wish. A bit different than having an implant inside your body.

Left behind works. Switched off doesn't necessarily according to a certain Mr Snowden. As I said the chip does not have gps capability...yet. Or maybe it secretly does and can be turned on remotely unbeknownst to the employee :eek:

Well if it becomes mandatory in certain companies to have one of these in order to have a job and earn money, I'd say that's a personal advantage! It says in the article that only 10 employees have opted not to get the chips. I wonder how long until they begin to feel the pressure to get them seeing as they are in the minority.

Well yes that's a good point. I think the company is a tech company so it's going to be full of geeks that can't wait to try the latest technology so not too surprising most opted for it.

Del2005

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

I'm always staggered when people try to rationalize or defend this kind of creepy ****. Cos yeah, it's just like a swipe card.... in your thumb.

Camera technology is already better for tracking people than a chip that nearly everyone has in their pets, that can only be read from a few inches, and gait analysis technology will mean that it'll be nearly impossible to avoid being tracked.


So the only thing that this will do is replace the numerous cards that you are currently carrying.

AllGunsBlazing

Del2005 wrote: »

So the only thing that this will do is replace the numerous cards that you are currently carrying.

It won't replace a thing because I will never be so foolish to allow anyone to insert one into me.

pickarooney

LirW wrote: »

These people are engineers, they work with technologies like that every day. RFID has a range of around a meter. Do you have a debit cart and use the contactless ports in shops? There you go, this is pretty much all a chip like that can do. Clocking in, clocking out, doing minor payments. Think of it as a card under your skin instead of in your wallet.

I'm not seeing how this is an improvement over a card in your wallet or a bracelet on your wrist.

tomwaterford

What happens if you change your job,do they take it back out?

DivingDuck

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm not seeing how this is an improvement over a card in your wallet or a bracelet on your wrist.

I recently had to cancel my bank card because I (mistakenly) thought I left it behind at a self-service terminal in a shop. When I got home, I discovered I had just put it in a different pocket.

There's a lot to be said for something that can't be mislaid or misplaced.

Mind you, not all of those things are positive.

The_Valeyard

Criminals be chopping off fingers next

fizzypish

LirW wrote: »

These people are engineers, they work with technologies like that every day.

Then they should know better. At least don't be the early adopter. Let someone else blaze the trail. RFID is pretty harmless but it could lead to some disturbing precedence's.

Subcomandante Marcos

ceadaoin. wrote: »

No contactless cards here in the US yet surprisingly.

I paid contactless at a self service till in a Target in the Bay area less than two months ago?

BillyBobBS

The march towards the end of one's privacy continues.

Mena

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

ceadaoin. wrote: »

No contactless cards here in the US yet surprisingly.

I paid contactless at a self service till in a Target in the Bay area less than two months ago?

I used contactless at target in Orlando and Minneapolis two weeks ago as well.

As for the chip, sounds cool, is do it. But then I never found my tin foil hat.

Del2005

tomwaterford wrote: »

What happens if you change your job,do they take it back out?

It's just a bunch of numbers. You can program any RFID reader to use it. So instead of carrying car keys you just walk up and it'll open and start, a lot safer than the current keyless entry systems.

Del2005

fizzypish wrote: »

Then they should know better. At least don't be the early adopter. Let someone else blaze the trail. RFID is pretty harmless but it could lead to some disturbing precedence's.

It's been used for years on animals for the pet passport, I don't hear many owners complaining about their pets being affected.

It's probably one of the safest things that you could put into your body. Yet people will complain about it while using a device which emits thousands of times more RF radiation and consuming a drug, caffeine/alcohol, or poison, chocolate in enough quantities or a cigarette!

SEPT 23 1989

These anti chippers are lunatics get you kids chipped ffs

RayCon

Solution : Simple ....

fizzypish

Del2005 wrote: »

It's been used for years on animals for the pet passport, I don't hear many owners complaining about their pets being affected.

It's probably one of the safest things that you could put into your body. Yet people will complain about it while using a device which emits thousands of times more RF radiation and consuming a drug, caffeine/alcohol, or poison, chocolate in enough quantities or a cigarette!

From a health point of view, if its inserted safely by a professional, there's no issue. The precedence of making it ok to insert technology is a tad more disturbing. Its just a little RFID chip. Its just a little implant in your tooth to hear your phone silently. Its just a little chip so you can see and type on a virtual screen (Don't think this one is possible yet). Its just a little tracker.
Provided its always an option to say "no I don't want this" then there's no issue from me.

jimgoose

All will be assimilated.

readyletsgo

Heard about this last week. When you take a step back, it's mad. I wouldn't do it. But that's just me.


Wisconsin Business Becomes First U.S. Company To Microchip Employees:
https://youtu.be/St2VjkdY3WQ he has all the good points when you look at it properly.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

GerryDerpy

If any of you anti-implant chip people have Facebook accounts then you are hypocritical or just silly.

readyletsgo

GerryDerpy wrote: »

If any of you anti-implant chip people have Facebook accounts then you are hypocritical or just silly.

No social media here

Edit: sadly it's kinda hard to avoid Google or apple or any of those things, phones.

GerryDerpy

readyletsgo wrote: »

No social media here

Esit: sadly it's kinda hard to avoid Google or apple or any of those things, phones.

I agree, you would have to try too hard to avoid Google or apple.

Dohnjoe

Stonedpilot wrote: »

People laughed at the New World Order conspiratorial reseachers who warned us of this decades ago.

A microchipped slave race. No privacy, everything monitored, freedom and access determined by your chip type and coding, privledges on chips being turned off etc etc.

Astonishing People want this. So sad.

News: "A group of engineers volunteer to try out microchip tech"

Conspiracy theorists: "ITS HAPPENING!!!1"

readyletsgo

GerryDerpy wrote: »

I agree, you would have to try too hard to avoid Google or apple.

I suppose rooting your phone helps? Never been too bothered with that, but maybe I should? And using a VPN too to block your data usage.

GerryDerpy

readyletsgo wrote: »

I suppose rooting your phone helps? Never been too bothered with that, but maybe I should? And using a VPN too to block your data usage.

No idea. I don't make any effort to conceal myself beyond preventing fraud. Chip me up baby.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

readyletsgo

Dohnjoe wrote: »

News: "A group of engineers volunteer to try out microchip tech"

Conspiracy theorists: "ITS HAPPENING!!!1"

Key word, volunteering. You're hardly gonna pay someone to put an implant in you are you? And most likely if and when it gets bigger people will pay for it. Just like your phone, or bank account etc. Facebook Instagram twitter etc are all free because people give way too much of their own information too these companies for free. Free information for corporation's really.

No matter about conspiracy theories, it's a fascinating subject!

readyletsgo

GerryDerpy wrote: »

No idea. I don't make any effort to conceal myself beyond preventing fraud. Chip me up baby.

Haha, lol. True

Greybottle

I think it's another step in a certain direction and like all technologies it can be used gainfully or badly abused. I've no worries about a chip like that from a medical point of view, though I'm not too sure how inclined that they are to floating around the body. Our dogs chip that was planted in his neck is now in his hip!

I can see the advantages of them, there's loads of them and it can be a very practical thing to have, but do they outweigh the disadvantages?

There are a number off issues with it that I can see becoming a problem in the future. First of all is the right to refuse, or possibly the option to refuse. I'd like to know how many of the 50 people did it for innovation and how many for some sort of conformity pressure. It's also very easy to introduce this pressure into a company, in that they make it visible without making it obvious that anybody not conforming doesn't get promoted etc.

Then there's the development. When does the RFID chip give way to a tracker and can they track me when I leave the job. And where does it go from there? If I work for Ford, can they see me visiting a Toyota dealer and will they know what I intend buying etc. etc.

So where does my privacy end and where does company control start?

I'll give two personal examples from my own experience: I worked in facilities for a while, a new building where we were installing stuff had swipe cards with RFID chips for all rooms and doors. Reason was to be able to save energy by switching off lights when nobody was using a room. Soon enough, however the warning letters arrived saying people were spending too long in toilets, canteens and smoking areas, and they used the chips to prove this. No idea if anybody was sacked there further down the line, but the warnings were being handed out only about two months after the system went in.

The second example was one where I worked in Germany. Again during installations in the R&D section of a well known multinational. We were fitted with bracelets with GPS trackers as we were not allowed under any circumstances into a couple of areas where they were developing new products. because we were installing alarm systems we could switch any door on and off, so the usual systems didn't apply to us.

I cut the bracelet off every evening, it was a 5 minute job getting a new one the next morning. Some of the lads left theirs on all night. fair enough. Until one of the supervisors was having a laugh with us and mentioned that he knew two of the lads had visited a strip club the night before.

How did he know? GPS trackers on the wrist of the two lads. And he could monitor every move they made inside and outside of the plant.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

conorhal

Stonedpilot wrote: »

People laughed at the New World Order conspiratorial reseachers who warned us of this decades ago.

A microchipped slave race. No privacy, everything monitored, freedom and access determined by your chip type and coding, privledges on chips being turned off etc etc.

Astonishing People want this. So sad.

Orwell assumed all this would be done by coercion, of course 1984 was an allegory of a collectivist totalitarian regime. Huxley's 'Brave New World' was more on point regards how this might happen in a capitalist consumerist society.
They won't take your freedom through coercion, you give it up willingly for convenience.

ceadaoin.

OSI wrote: »

dafuq are you talking about? Contactless has been in the states for years, in Credit/Debit cards, mobile phones and more. Christ you've been able to pay for your coffee with your watch for like 3 years now.

Maybe it depends on where you are? I've honestly never seen anyone use a contactless card. Apple and android pay, yes. Just Google contactless cards in the US and there are loads of articles about how it hasn't caught on yet.

http://plugandplaytechcenter.com/2017/03/13/contactless-payments-united-states/

Boardnashea

Greybottle wrote: »

I cut the bracelet off every evening, it was a 5 minute job getting a new one the next morning. Some of the lads left theirs on all night. fair enough. Until one of the supervisors was having a laugh with us and mentioned that he knew two of the lads had visited a strip club the night before.

How did he know? GPS trackers on the wrist of the two lads. And he could monitor every move they made inside and outside of the plant.

I would be making a data protection complaint immediately if that happened to me. Bracelet is required for a single purpose and that was obviously abused. Could be a tidy payout/compensation!

The phone I carry in my pocket knows where I am at all times, it knows who I'm talking to, and can also see everything I do. The fitbit on my wrist stores data about all my activities, as well as monitors my general health. Hell, it can even monitor my sleep if I wanted it to. The sites I visit on a daily basis track everything I do in that site and, often, on other ones too.

If I can pay for things without going to the bother of reaching into my pocket, then I'm all for it. Also one step closer to Mass Effect levels of technology.

fizzypish

GerryDerpy wrote: »

If any of you anti-implant chip people have Facebook accounts then you are hypocritical or just silly.

Not fully sure of the link here? From the point of view of your data being up for grabs and you intentionally put it there, I see your point. But I have the option of not using social media and thats the end of the data that can be gotten from me. An implant is a bit more difficult to stop the data flow (RFID is a bit simple to be worried about meaningful data being gathered). Also, is having to punch in my pin when paying for something or carrying money that much of an inconvenience?
At the end of the day its a good thing its happening but I don't want to be the early adopted. In 40 years time, if I have the option of my sight tending towards blindness or getting chipped and "maybe" having data taken, I'll take the chip.