So I drew a little comic about the implantable microchip arphid. (Arphid is a pronunciation of RFID, just in case you didn’t know, because I didn’t).
It was inspired by the VeriChip Corporation, which hasn’t been doing too well because of the bad implications of implants. They recently created a subsidiary called VeriGreen Energy Corp., in an effort to stay afloat (and jump on the green bandwagon). I haven’t heard much else about them in the news, so I’m looking to interview the guys that implanted themselves with arphid chips here in NY. … Should be interesting.
Until then, enjoy (click the pic):
It’s supposed to be something like a pro-RFID ad.
Possibly Relevant Posts:
- Arphie the arphid, & a Look into the Future (10) | Angela
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9 Comments
Is this different than the microchip that they already put in many cats and dogs?
Also the comic is adorable
Nope. RFID technology is being used already in credit cards, passports, drivers licenses, and yes, dogs. The company most famous for it is VeriChip.
This just seems like something out of 1984 or Brave New World. I can understand putting one of these in your dog or something (I guess, that’s still kind of ridiculous, just train your dog, come on) but putting this inside yourself? Are we that afraid of the world that we need to be able to be tracked at all times if need be? I just don’t see where the demand is coming from, or why anyone should ever want this.
On a completely different note, that comic was awesome.
I really like your comic! Also I remember you mentioning in class that these chips aren’t being used for what they are “suppose” to be used for. I think it would be really interesting to explore that like you mentioned people putting it inside themselves and stuff. I hope you get to interview the guys that would be really interesting.
I think that in your previous post you mentioned that Mexico was using RFID within the police force??? Well I remember about 2 years ago it was extremely popular (and expensive) for the upper class Mexican society to inject themselves with RFIDs because of all the kidnappings. It did save lives, however certain kidnappers learned how to deactivate them once the person was kidnapped. Maybe you can look into how these things can be deactivated or how long it their expected performance is meant to last…
Ha ha love the comic strip. Are these chips actually able to be put into humans? If so, are they? That’s a pretty messed up idea. I class we talked about the kind of “minority report” instant recognition that might be available in the future for all kinds of things. This has a similar feeling.
On a similar note, I read an article about how implantable GPS chips are being transplanted just like the RFID chips you’re talking about, in order to combat kidnappers in Mexico. The article is here->>>> http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/08/mexicans-embed.html
Thought you might be interested.
Love the comic, creative and informative. (Infographic?) I’m really interested in this. How exactly do they track these? Is there a system in place so that if you have it on your dog you can track it from home? I don’t think so, but is that where it’s going or could go?
This is really interesting…. I wonder if law enforcement in the states uses this technology (yes with a minority report, 1984 and fahrenheit 451 theme) You could go two directions with this theme…or both at the same time: how is this actually moving our society towards a distopian big-brother control situation? and what does our collective vison and fear of this distopia mean about our reality and how we think? Why are we simultaneously attracted to and afraid of this technological movement of surveillance?
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