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TECHNOLOGY Tuesday 4 april 2017

Cyborgs at work: employees getting implanted with microchips

JAMES BROOKS could get data about your
Associated Press health, you could get data
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The about your whereabouts,
syringe slides in between how often you’re working,
the thumb and index fin- how long you’re working, if
ger. Then, with a click, a you’re taking toilet breaks
microchip is injected in the and things like that.”
employee’s hand. Another Libberton said that if such
“cyborg” is created. data is collected, the big
What could pass for a dys- question remains of what
topian vision of the work- happens to it, who uses it,
place is almost routine at and for what purpose.
the Swedish startup hub So far, Epicenter’s group of
Epicenter. The company cyborgs doesn’t seem too
offers to implant its work- concerned.
ers and startup members “People ask me; ‘Are you
with microchips the size of chipped?’ and I say; ‘Yes,
grains of rice that function why not,’” said Fredric Kai-
as swipe cards: to open jser, the 47-year-old chief
doors, operate printers, or experience officer at Epi-
buy smoothies with a wave center. “And they all get
of the hand. excited about privacy is-
The injections have be- sues and what that means
come so popular that and so forth. And for me it’s
workers at Epicenter hold Self-described “body hacker” Jowan Osterlund from Biohax Sweden, holds a small microchip just a matter of I like to try
parties for those willing to implant, similar to those implanted into workers at the Epicenter digital innovation business centre new things and just see it
get implanted. during a party at the co-working space in central Stockholm, Tuesday March 14, 2017. as more of an enabler and
“The biggest benefit I think Associated Press what that would bring into
is convenience,” said Pat- nologies, it raises security into their body, like pace- Near Field Communica- the future.” The implants
rick Mesterton, co-founder and privacy issues. While makers and stuff to con- tion (NFC) technology, have become so popu-
and CEO of Epicenter. As a biologically safe, the data trol your heart,” he said. the same as in contactless lar that Epicenter work-
demonstration, he unlocks generated by the chips “That’s a way, way more credit cards or mobile pay- ers stage monthly events
a door by merely waving can show how often an serious thing than having a ments. When activated by where attendees have the
near it. “It basically replac- employee comes to work small chip that can actu- a reader a few centime- option of being “chipped”
es a lot of things you have, or what they buy. Unlike ally communicate with de- ters (inches) away, a small for free. That means visits
other communication de- company swipe cards or vices.” amount of data flows be- from self-described “body
vices, whether it be credit smartphones, which can Epicenter, which is home to tween the two devices via hacker” Jowan Osterlund
cards or keys.” generate the same data, a more than 100 companies electromagnetic waves. from Biohax Sweden who
The technology in itself is person cannot easily sepa- and some 2,000 workers, The implants are “passive,” performs the “operation.”
not new. Such chips are rate themselves from the began implanting work- meaning they contain infor- He injects the implants —
used as virtual collar plates chip. ers in January 2015. Now, mation that other devices using pre-loaded syringes
for pets. Companies use “Of course, putting things about 150 workers have can read, but cannot read — into the fleshy area of
them to track deliveries. into your body is quite a big them. A company based in information themselves. the hand, just next to the
It’s just never been used to step to do and it was even Belgium also offers its em- Ben Libberton, a microbi- thumb. The process lasts a
tag employees on a broad for me at first,” said Mester- ployees such implants, and ologist at Stockholm’s Karo- few seconds, and more of-
scale before. Epicenter ton, remembering how he there are isolated cases linska Institute, says hackers ten than not there are no
and a handful of other initially had had doubts. around the world where could conceivably gain screams and barely a drop
companies are the first to “But then on the other tech enthusiasts have tried huge swathes of informa- of blood. “The next step for
make chip implants broad- hand, I mean, people have this out in recent years. tion from embedded mi- electronics is to move into
ly available. been implanting things The small implants use crochips. The ethical dilem- the body,” he says.
And as with most new tech- mas will become bigger Sandra Haglof, 25, who
the more sophisticated the works for Eventomatic,
microchips become. an events company that
“The data that you could works with Epicenter, has
possibly get from a chip had three piercings before,
that is embedded in your and her left hand barely
body is a lot different from shakes as Osterlund injects
the data that you can get the small chip.
from a smartphone,” he “I want to be part of the fu-
says. “Conceptually you ture,” she laughs.q