Britain’s information guru predicted that within the next 10 years, humans will be treated like animals and outfitted with mandated microchips.
It’s hardly an idle claim: America already has several cases of microchipping of individuals for work-related or safety and security reasons.
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas made the startling prediction of the fate of surveillance technology in the Report on the Surveillance Society, a recent study that drew insights from scores of respected academics, according to the Daily Mail.
Microchipping is already common as a means of allowing owners to keep track of the whereabouts of their pets. But common chipping of humans is on the horizon, the report’s editors predict.
By 2016, the technology for government to track humans will be freely available and frequently used, the Mail reported.
What’s needed is a regulatory approach to limit the use of spy technology, especially those devices that are rooted in Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, science, the report concluded.
RFID chips are already in widespread use in passports issued by the United Kingdom. They’re also part and parcel of the Oyster card system used in the London Transport network, the Mail reported.
But in the United States, microchips have already been used in limited instances, related to health and welfare or corporate security.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.