Episode Details

Implanted Chips: Implants used for BCI are designed to interpret neural activity for specific purposes like operating devices, not for mind control or reading thoughts broadly.

Ethical Concerns: The ethical implications of brain implants that could potentially control thoughts or actions raise significant questions about human agency and privacy.

Conclusion:

While advancements in BCI technology offer promising applications for medical purposes and assistive technologies, the idea of implants controlling thoughts as depicted in movies or conspiracy theories is not supported by current scientific capabilities. It is essential to critically evaluate the benefits and risks of such technologies while considering ethical implications and ensuring transparency in their development and use.

Has anyone gotten a chip implant without consent?

It is an interesting ethical discussion. However, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) microchips are quite small and not implanted very deep under the skin. If they were implanted deep, such as in the muscle, the radio signals wouldn’t be able to penetrate the flesh. As it is, the radio receiver needs to be right next to the skin where the chip is. The chip is powered by the signals emitted by the receiver and emits an identification number.

Chips are implanted right under the dermis, in the hypodermis. It’s deep enough that it shouldn’t pop out on its own but not difficult to cut out. You can feel where it is. Your hair follicles grow out of the hypodermis. So if you pull a hair out you can tell how much hair was under the skin. That’s how deep the RFID chip is implanted.

The biggest issue would be an infection because people think putting a cigarette lighter under a pocket knife sterilizes it but it just adds a bunch of soot to the blade.

Taking an RFID microchip out wouldn’t be difficult. This is quite different from say, a Nazi concentration camp tattoo. On the other hand, Holocaust survivors usually haven’t had their tattoos removed, because they’re evidence of how they survived difficult times and the people they lost.

Implanted RFID chips in humans are primarily used for security. Many workplaces have badges or cards with RFID chips in them, which largely replaced magnetic strips. To get into a secure room or to clock into work, you tap the card to the reader. Although you might still need to present photo ID, the few people who have had RFID chips implanted use them as a handy substitute for the work badge. They also could be used to log into the computer (although facial recognition, such as Windows Hello, or on mobile phones works pretty well without a needle).

People pay a fair amount of money to have a chip implanted (mostly for the doctor to implant it), it’s not something that would likely be done to someone without their consent because there isn’t a reason to do it. If you want to identify someone, it’s easier just to use biometrics — their fingerprint or an iris scan.

The benefit of the RFID chip is that it’s replaceable. If someone steals your credit card number, you cancel the card and get a new one. If someone steals your RFID chip number, you flash it with a new number. If someone steals your fingerprint or retina scan, what are you supposed to do? If you want someone to be permanently identifiable, you will use biometrics — you would add their fingerprints to a database — you would not implant an RFID chip.