We haven’t warmed to the idea yet, but the idea of implanted chips isn’t a totally crazy one. Okay it kinda is, but I mean that it’s just an effort to chip away at the obstacle that stands before us in terms of technological advancement – how do we become more “one” with our technology?
We’ve iMac personalized it, we’ve iPhoned it into omnipresence, and we’re currently Twittering it into real-time. Nanotech has made huge strides. A bionic eye gave a blind man sight. Where will human-computer interaction go next?
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi everyone, welcome to Angela’s 4th travelogue conclusion. I started this travelogue wanting to know more about RFID technology and wondering what happened to all the fuss about VeriChip – the company behind the implantable arphids. After scouring the Net and having a wonderful interview with Meghan Trainor, I’ve come to the conclusion that the bad rap that arphid chips got was kind of because of the word “implants.” Although my interview does mention the buzz word “tracking,” I think the actual act of injecting a pill-sized chip remains a huge turn-off for most of the world, of course maybe excluding certain VIP night clubs.
Yes, the quote is out of context. So listen to the interview (or read transcript?) to find out more.
Meghan Trainor is an artist who completed her master’s at NYU’s ITP, and it currently a doctoral student at U of Washington. She was influenced by Bruce Sterling’s vision of the future space, which includes spimes, and became one of the first artists to use RFID in her artwork. She was very insightful and a pleasure to speak with.
Note: There are strange blips, and it’s because my editing skills are not smooth. Went from 30 to 7 mins. Transcript ahead:Read More »
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.
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