TRADING IDENTIFICATION CARDS FOR MICROCHIP IMPLANTS

The Advent of Microchip Implants

Thousands of Swedes Are Replacing Their ID Cards with Microchip Implants

Thousands of people in Sweden have opted to trade in their identification cards for tiny microchips implanted underneath their skin, Lund University digital culture lecturer Moa Petersén writes in Quartz.

The chips, which use near-field communication (NFC) technology, can stand in place of key cards and rail cards, and they could someday be used in lieu of credit cards, although that doesn't appear to have been tested yet. 

Future applications of this technology are likely to be developed as it gains popularity.

The chips are typically the size of a grain of rice and are implanted just under the skin between the thumb and forefinger. While they're commonly used in pets, some critics say any human application of the technology starts to cross over into dystopian territory.

Mentalfloss.com. (2019). Thousands of Swedes Are Replacing Their ID Cards with Microchip Implants. [online] Available at: https://mentalfloss.com/article/549130/thousands-swedes-are-replacing-their-id-cards-microchip-implants