EDIBLE MICROCHIPS, BIOMETRIC IDENTITY SYSTEMS AND MIND READING COMPUTERS

"The greatest triumphs of applied science so far have been in the realm of physics and chemistry. When people think of scientific technique they think primarily of machines. It seems probable that in the near future science will achieve equal triumphs in biological and physiological directions, and will ultimately acquire as much power to change men's minds as it already has power to deal with our inanimate environment." ~ Bertrand Russell, The Scientific Outlook, 1931

"This subject [mass psychology] will make great strides when it is taken up by scientists under a scientific dictatorship... Although this science will be diligently studied, it will be rigidly confined to the governing class. The populace will not be allowed to know how its convictions were generated. When the technique has been perfected, every government that has been in charge of education for a generation will be able to control its subjects securely without the need of armies or policemen." ~ Bertrand Russel, The Impact of Science on Society (1952) page 41

The American Dream

January 17, 2012

As technology continues to advance at an exponential rate, will we someday find ourselves living in a "scientific dictatorship" where virtually everything that we do, say and think is monitored and controlled by technology? 

To many of you that may sound like a wild assertion, but just keep reading.  Our world is changing faster than ever before, and scientists have some absolutely wild things planned for our future. 

As you read this, they are feverishly developing edible microchips, cutting edge biometric identity systems, and mind reading computers.  Many futurists envision a world where someday nearly all humans are embedded with microchips and have thousands of tiny nanobots living inside of them. 

The idea is that we can "take control of our own evolution" and use technology to "improve" humanity.  But very few of those futurists address the potential downsides. 

The truth is that all of this technology could one day be used by a totalitarian government to establish a dystopian nightmare where nobody has any liberties and freedoms whatsoever.

The world of tomorrow is not going to be anything like the world of today, and most people have no idea how dramatically the world is changing.

For instance, many people have never even heard of "edible microchips".

Unfortunately, they are not some wild idea that some wacky scientists are hoping to develop in the future.

They are already here, and they are about to be marketed to the public in the UK.

The idea is that these edible microchips will help doctors monitor your health conditions and the medicines that you are taking.  The following comes from a recent article in the Daily Mail....

The sensor, which contains no battery, antenna or radio, creates a unique digital signature that is picked up and recorded by a patch attached to the patient's shoulder.

The patch, which also monitors bodily functions such as heart rate and temperature, sends this encrypted information to blue-tooth enabled smartphones or computers owned by the patient and their doctors and carers.

In this way, both patients and their doctors can work out exactly which pills have been taken. Medics can also interpret whether the patient is sleeping well, or taking enough exercise using the information transmitted from the patch.

But could such edible microchips be used for more nefarious purposes in the future?

Of course.

And scientists are developing many other new ways for you to be tracked by technology as well.

For example, do you remember in the movie "Minority Report" how Tom Cruise had to cover his eyes because he was being tracked by them wherever he went?

Well, it won't be too long before that becomes a reality in our world.

IBM is aggressively developing new biometric identity systems that could significantly change the way that we live our lives.  The following is from a recent IBM press release:

You will no longer need to create, track or remember multiple passwords for various log-ins. Imagine you will be able to walk up to an ATM machine to securely withdraw money by simply speaking your name or looking into a tiny sensor that can recognize the unique patterns in the retina of your eye. Or by doing the same, you can check your account balance on your mobile phone or tablet.

Each person has a unique biological identity and behind all that is data. Biometric data ~ facial definitions, retinal scans and voice files ~ will be composited through software to build your DNA unique online password.

Referred to as multi-factor biometrics, smarter systems will be able to use this information in real-time to make sure whenever someone is attempting to access your information, it matches your unique biometric profile and the attempt is authorized.

When biometric identity systems become widespread enough, authorities will pretty much know where you are and what you are doing at all times.

But even more frightening is something else that IBM is developing right now.  IBM scientists are actually working really hard to develop mind reading computers.  The idea is that someday we will all be able to control various electronic devices simply by using our thoughts....

IBM scientists are among those researching how to link your brain to your devices, such as a computer or a smartphone. If you just need to think about calling someone, it happens. Or you can control the cursor on a computer screen just by thinking about where you want to move it.

Scientists in the field of bioinformatics have designed headsets with advanced sensors to read electrical brain activity that can recognize facial expressions, excitement and concentration levels, and thoughts of a person without them physically taking any actions.

The following promotional video from IBM describes some of these emerging technologies in more detail....

But IBM is not the only one working on mind reading technology.

Several video game makers have been attempting to develop games that you control not with a joystick or a gamepad but rather with your brain waves.

This all sound fascinating, but could such technology someday be adapted for other purposes?

Instead of us controlling the electronic devices that we connect our brains to, could they instead be used to control us someday?

Being more "connected" is not necessarily a good thing.

People have been looking for ways to stay more "connected" to the Internet for a long time, and many futurists are now suggesting that we should find a way to directly connect our brains to the Internet.  An article on the website of the Science Channel put it this way....

What if it were possible to connect your brain to the Internet, either wirelessly or through a cable, download digital information at high speed, and then translate it automatically into a chemical form that could be stored by your brain cells as memory?

The same article explained what some of the benefits from such a connection might be....

If you could pump data directly into your gray matter at, say, 50 mbps — the top speed offered by one major U.S. internet service provider ~ you’d be able to read a 500-page book in just under two-tenths of a second.

But wouldn't this be potentially dangerous?

If we found a way to connect our brains to the Internet 100% of the time, couldn't someone potentially "download" damaging programs or "viruses" directly into our heads?

That is something to think about.

A British researcher named Mark Gasson infected an RFID chip in his hand with a computer virus and found that the virus-infected chip implanted in his hand was able to contaminate external systems.

So wouldn't the danger be far greater if we connected our brains directly to the Internet?

I don't know about you, but I don't plan on ever connecting my brain directly to the Internet and I don't plan on ever letting anyone put an RFID chip inside of me either.

Unfortunately, the use of implantable RFID chips in humans and animals is rapidly spreading.  A lot of employers now require that their employees take them for identification purposes.  Some cities in the U.S. are actually making it mandatory to put microchips into your pets.

Increasingly, RFID implants are being injected into thousands of elderly Americans living with Alzheimer's disease who are at risk of wandering off and getting lost.  In addition, RFID chips are being implanted into many people who are chronically ill so that doctors can access their medical information quickly in an emergency.

And many companies are working hard to make it even easier to implant RFID chips into humans and animals.

In fact, one company called Somark has developed a stunning breakthrough in chipless RFID ink.  Their "RFID tattoos" are applied using a geometric array of micro-needles and a reusable applicator.

Somark says that it is incredibly easy to apply one of these RFID tattoos.  They say that it only takes about 5 to 10 seconds to tattoo an animal or a human.  Once the tattoo has been applied, an RFID reader can read it from up to four feet away.

Frightening stuff.

But some say that there might be an even easier way than that to keep track of everybody in the future.

IBM is actually working on a "bar code reader" that can read your DNA.  The following is from a Fox News article about this project....

The DNA Transistor is a project from IBM Research that aims to advance personalized medicine, by making it simpler (and much cheaper) to read an individual's unique DNA sequence ~ the special combination of proteins that makes you unlike anyone else.

The technology isn't finished yet, but its potential is tantalizing enough that IBM wanted to share it with the world. And the company claims researchers are making progress.

Essentially a bar code reader for genes, the DNA Transistor is part technique and part device. It consists of a 3-nanometer wide hole, known as a nanopore, in a silicon microchip. A sensor in the pore can read DNA and determine its unique makeup.

Our world is changing at a mind blowing pace right now.

The decisions that are made now are going to have a dramatic affect on how the future plays out.

That is why so many of us are speaking out about how the government is watching us and about how our liberties and our freedoms are being taken away.

If we don't stand up for freedom and liberty right now, our children may one day wake up in a world where they are so controlled by technology that they are unable to do so.

ED: Not all chains are made of metals or physical matter!

Right now we are not too far away from the kind of world that authors such as George Orwell once warned about.  This article will conclude with a quote from his famous work 1984....

"It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself ~ anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face...; was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime..."