Many people in Sweden have been starting to get chipped since the spring of 2018. People get a chip surgically inserted between their thumb and index finger which then replaces all plastic cards, keys, and other things that people usually have to carry with them. And if last year around only 100 people had these chips, then now, according to Daily Mail, this number has risen to more than 4,000 people and it’s still growing.
We at Bright Side decided to find out what this chip is and what it does.
The main things about this chip:
- It replaces all electronic wallets, bank cards, travel cards, and different key cards. You can use it to pay by simply touching a terminal with your hand.
- It’s as small as a grain of rice.
- Its price together with the procedure is $180. Some companies even offer this service to their employees.
- It doesn’t have a GPS tracker, so a person cannot be tracked.
- The chip only works if it is several inches away from the reader. So it’s not easy for this information to be stolen by criminals unless they somehow get the person’s hand.
- It is passive so it only contains the information, but it can’t access any information from other devices.
In this video, you can see how it works. Scientists think that this device opens a door for the people from Sweden to the new digital age. Besides, it is really convenient.
How it looks (you can’t really see it):
If you press it, you can see this:
On x-ray
And here is the process of chipping (no blood):
This new invention has also been criticized by some people. Skeptics think that first of all, nobody can guarantee that the personal information contained in these chips will be confidential. Second, some people are sure that these chips will soon have GPS trackers in them. It’s quite possible that it will all start with big companies that will want to track the location of their employees. Otherwise (and this is a conspiracy theory) why would some companies provide this service for free. Big Brother Is Watching You.
Yes, we at Bright Side agree that this is a really convenient tool. Before, we had to get our big phone out of our pockets, find the Apple Pay or Google Pay app, or even worse, find a wallet in a bag that is easy to lose or a set of keys that weigh a lot. Now you can open any doors you need, buy food, clothes, and tickets with just one simple move.
Maybe, 5 years later, someone will read this article and laugh at such conservative views but the ethical side of this question still worries a lot of people. What is your opinion? Would you like to get this chip? Tell us in the comment section below.
Please note: This article was updated in February 2022 to correct source material and factual inaccuracies.
