Headline August 03, 2017/ ''' CHIPPED =CHEWED- CHOPPED '''

''' CHIPPED =CHEWED- CHOPPED '''

BETWEEN FICTION AND GAMING  : I cannot,  ever for the world of me, imagine a greater delight, than-

To have    Merium, Rabo, Dee, Aqsa, Zainab,   carry an implanted chip in their earrings. While Saima, Ambassador Malala, Sarah, Eman, Seher Khan, Lakshmi,  carry an implanted RFID chip in their beautiful gold rings.

And to top it all,  to have  Hussain,  Shahzaib, Salar,  Bilal, Jordan, Reza, Faraz, Ali, Wajahat, Vishnu, Umer, Furqan, and  every single student on the World Students Society body wear an implanted chip.

All of the above : an ultimate in fashion, convenience, luxury and in building a   state-of-the-art   *Ecosystem on !WOW!.    Why then would we need national identity cards, driving licenses, and Passports............ 

At first blush, it sounds like the talk of a  conspiracy theorist : a company implanting  microchips  under employees ' skin.

But it's not a conspiracy, and employees are lining up for the opportunity.

On Aug 1, employees at  Three Square  Market, a technology company in Wisconsin, can choose to have a chip the size of a  grain of rice injected between their thumb and index finger.

Once that is done,  any task involving  radio frequency identification,...or RFID,  technology  -swiping into the office building, paying for food in the cafeteria   -can be accomplished with a wave of the hand.

The program is not mandatory, but as of July 24, more than  50 out of 80 employees at  Three Square's headquarters in River Falls, Wis, had volunteered.

''It was pretty much  100 percent  yes right from the  get-go  for me, said Sam Bengston, a software engineer. ''In the next  five to 10 years, this is going to be something that isn't scoffed at so much, or is more normal.

So I like to jump on the bandwagons with these kinds of things early, just to say that I have it.''

Jon Krusell,  another software engineer and Melissa Timmins, the company's sales director, were more hesitant. Mr. Krussel, who said he was excited about the technology but leery of an implanted device, might get a ring with a chip inside.

''Because. it's new, I don't know enough about it as yet,'' Ms. Timmins said:   ''I'm a little nervous about implanting something into my body.''

Still, ''I think it's pretty exciting to be a part of something new like this,'' she said. ''I know down the road it's going to be the next big thing, and we're on the cutting edge of it.''

The program a partnership between Three Square Market  and the Swedish company Biohax  International is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States-

But it has already been done at a  Swedish company, Epicenter. It raises a variety of questions, both privacy and health-related.

''Companies often claim that these chips are  secure and encrypted,'' said Alessandro  Acquisti, a professor of  technology and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University's  Heinz College.

But   ''encrypted''  is  ''a pretty vague  term,'' he said, ''which could include anything from a  truly secure  product to something that is easily hackable.''

Another potential problem, Dr. Acquisiti said, is that technology designed for one purpose may later be used for another. A  microchip  implanted today to allow for easy payments and access to buildings could, in theory, be used later in more evasive ways :

To track the length of employees bathroom or lunch breaks, for instance, without their consent or knowledge.

''Once they are implanted, it's very hard to predict or stop a future widening of their usage,'' Dr. Acquisti said.

Todd Westby, the  chief executive of   Three Square, emphasized that the chip's capabilities were limited : ''All it is is an  RFID  cheap reader,'' he said. ''It's not a GPS tracking device. It is a passive device and can only give data when  data's requested.''

''Nobody can track you with it,''  Mr. Westby added. YOUR CELL PHONE does 100 times more reporting of  data  than does an  RFID  chip.''

Health concerns are more difficult to assess. In the United States, implantable  radio frequency transponder systems,  the technical name for the chips, were approved by the  Food and  Drug Administration in 2004 for medical uses. 

Bit in rare cases according to the  F.D.A., the implantation site may become infected, or the chip may migrate elsewhere in the body. 

Dewey Wahlin, general manager of  Three Square , emphasized that the chips are  F.D.A approved and removable.  ''I am going to have  it implanted in me and I don't see any concern,'' he said.

While that sentiment is not universal at  Three Square , the response among employees was mostly positive.

''Much to my surprise, when we had our initial meeting to ask if this was something we wanted to look at doing, it was an overwhelming majority of people that said yes,'' Mr.  Westby said, noting that he had expected more reluctance.

''It exceeded my expectations. Friends, they want to be chipped. My whole family is being chipped      -my two sons, my wife and myself.''

If the devices are going to introduced anywhere, Mr. Wahlin noted, employees like  Three Squares might be most receptive. 

''We are a technology company when all is said and done, and they're excited about it,'' he said. ''They see this as the future''.

With respectful dedication to the Technology and Inventing companies, Students, Professors and Teachers of the World. See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society and Twitter-!E-WOW!   -the Ecosystem 2011:

''' Apps & !WOW! '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless