Sweden: thousands of technophiles get microchip implants, a sign of potential tyranny?
Opinion piece by Michael Maalouf, Staff Writer
April 27th, 2020
“Humans with implanted microchips” a phrase that instantly causes fear and confusion among those who hear about it no matter where in the world you find yourself. What if you knew that Cyborgs have become a reality? Or that people around the world have already started integrating technologies into their bodies. An unusual phenomenon that has sparked outrage among many once it was introduced a few years ago reminding them of many crazy and unforeseen scenarios, such as the Dystopian society presented by Netflix’s Black mirror, the Orwellian State in George Orwell’s 1984, and if they wanted to go far, they would be reminded of Mark of the Beast verses in the Bible and say it’s the coming of the antichrist.
Cyborgs Sci-Fi fantasy have become a reality and started to make its mark among technophiles around the world, but have evidently had a unique mark in Sweden; a nation is known for its advanced technology and high digital literacy.
Today Swedes are the early adopters of this Biohacking phenomenon. Emerging companies such as Dangerous things and BioHax began to introduce bio chipping products and especially the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Microchips with the NFC (Near Field Communication) state, which means they connect in a short distance of 4 inches with other devices.
The implanted microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and is covered by a hard glass material which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to break. It is sterilized before implantation into the skin and is implanted in the hand through an injector similar to the process of receiving a vaccination. Originally these microchips were widely injected on pets to track them as a tool for pet owners. As matter of fact, if you search on any e-commerce site such as Ali Express, you may still be able to purchase them for your pet only for a couple of dollars with its injector.
The microchip goes back to 1998 when studies conducted by Kevin Warwick a professor of cybernetics in Reading University helped him implant microchips in his hand and proved that technology can assist in progressing the human evolution. Jowan Österlund from Sweden came across the study a several years later, when a friend of his got his dog’s microchip and thus he decided to implant it in his hand as a practical joke on the Vet.
After this incident, Jowan believed that this initial project for pets had further potential, particularly as an opportunity for humans, and actually benefit humanity as a whole. Eventually Österlund worked on the product and teamed up with Hannes Sjöblad of the transhumanist community. The two eventually used their expertise to start BIOHAX - a company that provides a modern RIFD microchip allowing people assistance in opening doors, buying products, accessing trains, holding a business card, holding their medical records, and much more.
The technology is relatively simple and easy since the RIFD/NFC technology is already found in credit cards, which makes it a more accessible technology.
The microchips were first introduced by some companies in Sweden for its employees and is a voluntary act as company owners say it’s safe and that it won’t invade their employee’s privacy. Also, the companies producing it began hosting ‘microchipping parties’ where hundreds supposedly get injected with the chip and seem excited and enthusiastic about it. The reasoning for this lies in the idea of it as a tool for a more simple life they say, it makes their lives easier especially for those who have serious medical cases or are may be physically handicapped. Even though there isn’t a central directory on how many people have the microchips implanted, it is estimated that around 4000-5000 Swedes have the microchip implanted in them.
The phenomenon is more frequent in Sweden than other countries, and is being seen among the tech community around the world as a phenomenon of the future where everyone will eventually have these chips implanted - just like how everyone has Smart phones.
However, many in Sweden and around the world are against it for many reasons, including its health risks, morality, and the privacy concerns that comes with the technology is also frowned upon intensely. Many are comparing today’s world to the Orwellian state in 1984 especially after several major incidents such as Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor, exposing how our data isn’t secure and how easy it is easy for governments to track people’s data. Another familiar incident was when Cambridge Analytica allegedly took Facebook’s data to manipulate voters in favor of Trump in the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections.
Most people know today that their data can be easily accessible, and the incidents mentioned proved them to be true. Therefore, Microchips will face huge resistance amongst many before they become widespread globally. The primary concern and problem would be should governments make it a mandatory form of identification in the future, instead of regular ID cards and a prerequisite people to get their basic rights in any country. Although this may be an unforeseeable reality for many, we must remind ourselves that our current reality was unforeseeable decades ago. If the evolution of microchips ends as a mandatory technology, then the Orwellian state would be a dream come true for all the states that obsess themselves over authoritarianism. Until then we must be aware of how technology can easily affect our lives and consider the actions that should be used in order to protect our freedom in the future.