Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Mandatory Microchip: Mark of the Beast?

As mention in class, we tend to think that the more we progress in technology, the more free we actually are. Hons Jonas claims that progress is an end in itself, technology is out of our control. He goes on to express that we are approaching a point at which AI (Artificial Intelligence) will take over totally and direct their own future. Ray Kurzwielz is not as pessimistic about this subject as philosopher, he actually accepts this and wants to progress with it. He believes we will no longer need our biology base.

The word of placing microchips within humans has been kept in secrecy within the government for numerous years and is now being tested on actual human beings. This microchip is said to be part of Obama's health care program, anyone on a certain health program will be required to have one implanted in their hand. All babies born into a family who already have the chip and babies who the parents cannot afford a sufficient health insurance will be forced into Obama's new health program. The government hopes to eventually have all future babies implanted with the microchips and possibly later in the future, everyone.

These human microchips can cause many benefits and problems, ethical and non-ethical. The benefits of these human microchips is that they will be able to record all of the humans health problems, giving medical doctors and nurses a more direct and correct way of diagnosing/treating patients. These microchips are said to be able to detect swine flue and etc. These microchips will not only be able to hold memory of our health, but all of our finances as well, giving a possibility of swiping your hand rather than your card to buy stuff. These chips are also said to have GPS tracking in them, giving cops the ability to identify and locate criminals in their acts.

The problem associated with this is that it is technology, and current technology is outdated each month. Computers, Internet programs, and etc are always being hacked into, so who's to say that the same thing can't happen to the chips implanted in us? Identity theft is already a nationwide problem right now with just credit cards; if we "brand" each of us with these chips, we will have a certain IP address associated with us, an IP address that could be hacked. With the GPS tracking, it may be just for the government, but there will be hackers out there that discover ways of getting into the system, being able to track our every move, giving burglars the ability to know when we are not home, or to just tell if anyone is in a certain house hold depending on the lack of human IP addresses.

This rises huge ethical questions/debates. Putting a microchip in every single individual is the same as branding each and everyone of us, just like cattle, while technology would be the farmer. Humans were once identified by words, actions, and looks; now they will be identified as different IP addresses? This would put technology at the forefront, while we, the humans, are the ones being experimented on. Implanting this microchip or branding of technology can be related to or the equivalent as the mark of the beast that is mentioned in the bible. With this passage in the bible, God also claims he will have no mercy on those who receive the mark of the beast, whether it be on their head or hand. So is this mandatory microchip giant step in the progress of mankind, or will it be the first step into a world where humans bow to technology instead of God?

This is the website where I found my information from.
http://www.tldm.org/news4/markofthebeast.htm

4 comments:

Andrew Linkugel said...

That's a scary future. It's also an interesting contrast with the anonymity that can be seen with technology - electronic tracking by embedded microchip destroys any notion of privacy that has ever existed. Is it possible that we can see a future where both no one is unique, but everyone can be uniquely identified?

patty-wack said...

I find this very unsettling for a few reasons. First and foremost because it exposes that the governments do indeed hide stuff from its people. Regardless of the reasons, I pay my taxes so I want to know what my money is going towards. Second who knows what they could do with the technology if they get it in us. Could the chip be turned on us and used as a weapon? The possibilities are limitless... Third it's totally unethical and inhumane on so many levels. I feel as it takes away my very right of being a free human being. In short this idea makes me sick and I pray that our government gets its head on straight.

Bo Fette said...

Me being strongly opposed to the government can easily say that the main reason they want a chip in us is to keep tabs on everyone at all times. If we have the technology for a chip to detect a sickness, why don't we use it strictly for that? It doesn't have to have multiple uses (a.k.a monitoring us all the time).

Tim Taylor said...

While this complete loss of anonymity is frightening, I regret to inform you that this, in practice, has already happened. Each and every one of us keeps a cell phone on their person, a cell phone constantly bouncing off reception towers. This connection to cell phone towers, and if you have a GPS a space satilite, effectively gives the government, as long as they have a court order, permission to track your ever move at all times.