Hey George,

MT> Will chip implants for humans be as common as cellphones within
MT> a decade?  That remains to be seen.  What are your thoughts?
MT> What happens when the chip doesn't work?

GP> And further, what happens when retailing rectal orifices with 
GP> zero concern for what consumers really want (ab)use these chips?

The same thing that happens when they show too little respect for 
the public's concerns about privacy and the security of databases
containing personal financial and medical information, purchase 
histories, etc.  The public ends up being abused.

But I still want to know what happens when these chip implants
stop working.  How long are they expected to work?  Do the 
manufacturers talk about implant life spans?  When something
goes wrong, how difficult are the repairs?  Who pays for them?
If the chip implants are used for commerce or to control access
and they stop working, what's the fallback position?  

From the article by Mark Bard: "Time to buy a new shirt, Dave"

MB> Some technology firms, such as IBM, are also making 
MB> devices known as kill machines that will be able to 
MB> disable the tags after checkout.

That's a device for killing RFID chips attached to clothing and 
other products.  Can a similar device be usd to kill chips 
implanted in humans?  If so, will it be used as a weapon to fight
the system?  Or to make the lives of some people more difficult?



 


--- Maximus/2 3.01