Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision

[gLing]

Here's a vision of the not-so-distant future:
-Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items - and, by extension, consumers - wherever they go, from a distance.

A seamless, global network of electronic "sniffers" will scan radio tags in myriad public settings, identifying people and their tastes instantly so that customized ads, "live spam," may be beamed at them

-In "Smart Homes," sensors built into walls, floors and appliances will inventory possessions, record eating habits, monitor medicine cabinets - all the while, silently reporting data to marketers eager for a peek into the occupants' private lives.

Science fiction?

In truth, much of the radio frequency identification technology that enables objects and people to be tagged and tracked wirelessly already exists - and new and potentially intrusive uses of it are being patented, perfected and deployed.

Some of the world's largest corporations are vested in the success of RFID technology, which couples highly miniaturized computers with radio antennas to broadcast information about sales and buyers to company databases.

Already, microchips are turning up in some computer printers, car keys and tires, on shampoo bottles and department store clothing tags. They're also in library books and "contactless" payment cards (such as American Express' "Blue" and ExxonMobil's "Speedpass.")

Companies say the RFID tags improve supply-chain efficiency, cut theft, and guarantee that brand-name products are authentic, not counterfeit. At a store, RFID doorways could scan your purchases automatically as you leave, eliminating tedious checkouts.

Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision

Cool!

 

[BadBoy@TheWheel]

It is cool to an extent.

What I do not like is the "Big Brother" tinge in relation to tracking our every move.

Like a microchip implanted in newborns....

This technology scares me frankly, it seems to be crossing a line of civil liberties, or at least has that possibility.

It's the all seeing eye masked as progress if you ask me.

 

[gLing]

I would agree if you are forced to be chipped but if it is voluntary I don't see the problem.
If I had children I would have them chipped or their clothes chipped considering how many kids come up missing these days.