Last weekend I dove into the Netflix series Dark Net, a series about the cyber world’s most unique, and sometimes obscure, applications and the people who create and frequent them. In the second episode, we meet people who upgraded their bodies with technology in different ways. A man with a camera eye, the Most Connected Man on Earth”, Chris Dancy, and a story from Stockholm with an art director who implants a chip in her hand. Connected to this story we meet Hannes Sjöblad, Lund University alumnus, and Chief Disruption Officer at Epicenter, famous for his work and insights into near- and inbody technology. As a biohacker activist, he works to democratize public access to powerful biotechnologies by spreading information about this groundbreaking technology with decision-makers, media and schools.
Check out Hannes Sjöblad’s TEDx talk below:
The chip technology is already here. The Swedish company, (actually Skåne-based) Biohax International offers biohacking opportunities for businesses all around the world. The travel company TUI offers all employees in Sweden the chance to get a chip implanted for free to get access to printers and the office entrance. At the Swedish railway company, SJ, you can let the train host scan your hand in order to see your travelling documents. Thousands of Swedes already use these ticket services today (Expressen, 2017-05-18) Exciting and a little scary, isn’t it?
I’m not an early adopter (and maybe seen the Terminator too many times), so for now, I’m a bit skeptical about implanting my bank codes, gym membership and office access card into my body. However, the world may look a lot different in a decade or two.
What do you think? Would you be interested in implanting a chip in your hand?