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Swedish workers volunteer to get micro chipped

It sounds like something out of a Dystopian novel or movie – Swedish company Epicenter has injected some of its staff with microchips.

Before civil rights’ activists get up in arms, people need to know that the microchipping has been voluntary, says Epicenter CEO Patrick Mesterton. Epicenter offered staff to be embedded with a microchip about the size of a grain of rice in the webbing of one of their hands. Approximately 150 employees took up the offer.

Currently the device only helps to open doors and use electronic devices such as a photocopier. However, the company has said that in the future it will allow staff to pay for items at the cafeteria.

Mesterton says there is nothing insidious about the intention of the implant. He knows that there are privacy concerns (ie, will it monitor toilet breaks?), but that is not the intent of the device, says Mesterton. The main reason they implemented the idea was to “basically simplify your life”.

Mesterton sees the chip as something that replaces other devices such as credit cards and keys, although there is no talk of it being synched with smartphone or tablets.

 

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