If you own a pet, chances are you’re probably familiar with microchip technology, but did you know humans are now following suit and having microchips inserted into their bodies?
A Swedish start-up company, Epicenter, now has over 150 employees who have microchips in their hands. Sounds like something Dr. Evil would force on his workers, but these microchips are actually for “good” and not “evil.”
The microchips act like key fobs and are inserted into the skin of the employees’ hands. The microchips allow workers to open doors, print out documents, and even purchase drinks. Epicenter is one of few employers who have made “getting chipped” available to its employees.
According to Los Angeles Times (LA Times), “Epicenter, which is home to more than 100 companies and roughly 2,000 workers, began implanting workers in January 2015. Now, about 150 workers have the chips. A company based in Belgium also offers its employees such implants, and there are isolated cases around the world in which tech enthusiasts have tried them out in recent years.”
But these microchips are also causing concerns, and it’s not due to safety precautions either. The microchips are biologically safe to be inserted into the human body. What’s causing concern is the data that’s being collected by these chips. LA Times reports, “the data they generate can show how often employees come to work or what they buy. Unlike company swipe cards or smartphones, which can generate the same data, people cannot easily separate themselves from the chips.”
And wherever there’s data, there’s bound to be someone ready to hack into all that information! According to Ben Libberton, a microbiologist at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute, “[t]he data that you could possibly get from a chip that is embedded in your body is a lot different from the data that you can get from a smartphone,” he says. “Conceptually, you could get data about your health, you could get data about your whereabouts, how often you’re working, how long you’re working, if you’re taking toilet breaks and things like that.”
LA Times reports that the employees of Epicenter aren’t too concerned. According to one chief experience officer when asked if he is “chipped” says, “[people] all get excited about privacy issues and what that means and so forth. And for me it’s just a matter of I like to try new things and just see it as more of an enabler and what that would bring into the future.”
 Melissa Blazejak is a Senior Web Content Editor at BLR. She has written articles for HR.BLR.com and the HR Daily Advisor websites and is responsible for the day-to-day management of HR.BLR.com and HRLaws.com. She has been at BLR since 2014. She graduated with a BA of Science, specializing in Communication, from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2008. Most recently, she graduated in 2014 with a MS of Educational Technology. |