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Is this worth it? - Health complications, however rare [1], could arise from this. - It sounds like microchips bond with your tissue. The implictations for re

Is this worth it? - Health complications, however rare [1], could arise from this. - It sounds like microchips bond with your tissue. The implictations for removal should be obvious. - They'll almost certainly need replacing, either due to failure or the technology becoming redundant. - Far from being cool, early adopters are normalising the idea that employers can tag employees. I'm not OK with this. That's even discounting the privacy issues: - People you don't know will be able to scan you for a unique ID, without your consent. - People will do so. - Startups will emerge getting licensing deals to put NFC readers in public places and sell the data. And so on and so forth. These things accomplish less than you can do with a phone. Which most of us never leave home without anyway. Or face recognition, or ID cards, or a pin attached to your coat/shoes. [1] https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/FAQs/Pages/Microchipping-of-animals-FAQ.aspx https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/FAQs/Pages/Microchipping-o... . Suggests 1 in 10,000 rate of adverse events. Suggest Epicenter gets a good lawyer ;)

killjoywashere 10y ago
> microchips bond with your tissue Eh, not really. They stimulate a foreign body reaction from macrophages, creating a synovium-like cyst around the object. > The implications for removal should be obvious You'll end up a granuloma (collection of macrophages), which may calcify or slowly resolve down to collagenous scar tissue. So, I wouldn't lead with the biology, at least not when pitching your concerns to scientists. The privacy implications are pretty horrific though.
- meesterdude 10y ago
  I just read a NYT article that some breast implants were linked to causing cancer. So, while I appreciate your analysis of what the expected biological response is, there is still room for things to go wrong too, in ways we never foresaw - or simply neglected. But yes, the privacy and precedent implications of this will far outweigh the medical ones.
  - killjoywashere 10y ago
    The cancer you're talking about, Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), generally resolves with removal of the implants, though it's a new entity, so we're certainly still learning about it. The odds that breast implants are unique in causing this peculiar biological response seems low, from a basic science perspective. I thought about mentioning it in my original comment, but it's so rare that it seemed somewhat sensationalist to even bring it up.
    - meesterdude 10y ago
      > The odds that breast implants are unique in causing this peculiar biological response seems low, from a basic science perspective. which is why i mentioned it! > but it's so rare that it seemed somewhat sensationalist to even bring it up. fair enough. although there can be a sensationalist reaction to the news as well. I believe only 9 cases were found? I find it's worthwhile for my own expectations of reality, to respect that nothing is a sure thing, and that much comes with a big asterisk next to it.
derivagral 10y ago
>> - People you don't know will be able to scan you for a unique ID, without your consent. I agree with your overall tone, but can't this be done already with facial recognition?
- conjectures 10y ago
  Facial recognition: - Need unobscured face (crowds). - Complicated by changes in features and environment. - Unique IDs are something you ascribe to faces, not something they hand to you on a plate. - Sophisticated analysis needed. Example: even Baidu uses custom tricks for their facial recognition office ID with a known database of mugshots. I.e. not an unknown number of people in various conditions. RFID: - AFAIK can read many tags at once. - No need for line of sight. - Tags hand over a (likely) unique ID on demand - No need for deep learning experts at $100k> Seems to me microchips would be far easier to achieve creepy levels of tracking with.

killjoywashere 10y ago

> microchips bond with your tissue Eh, not really. They stimulate a foreign body reaction from macrophages, creating a synovium-like cyst around the object. > The implications for removal should be obvious You'll end up a granuloma (collection of macrophages), which may calcify or slowly resolve down to collagenous scar tissue. So, I wouldn't lead with the biology, at least not when pitching your concerns to scientists. The privacy implications are pretty horrific though.

meesterdude 10y ago
I just read a NYT article that some breast implants were linked to causing cancer. So, while I appreciate your analysis of what the expected biological response is, there is still room for things to go wrong too, in ways we never foresaw - or simply neglected. But yes, the privacy and precedent implications of this will far outweigh the medical ones.
- killjoywashere 10y ago
  The cancer you're talking about, Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), generally resolves with removal of the implants, though it's a new entity, so we're certainly still learning about it. The odds that breast implants are unique in causing this peculiar biological response seems low, from a basic science perspective. I thought about mentioning it in my original comment, but it's so rare that it seemed somewhat sensationalist to even bring it up.
  - meesterdude 10y ago
    > The odds that breast implants are unique in causing this peculiar biological response seems low, from a basic science perspective. which is why i mentioned it! > but it's so rare that it seemed somewhat sensationalist to even bring it up. fair enough. although there can be a sensationalist reaction to the news as well. I believe only 9 cases were found? I find it's worthwhile for my own expectations of reality, to respect that nothing is a sure thing, and that much comes with a big asterisk next to it.

derivagral 10y ago

>> - People you don't know will be able to scan you for a unique ID, without your consent. I agree with your overall tone, but can't this be done already with facial recognition?

conjectures 10y ago
Facial recognition: - Need unobscured face (crowds). - Complicated by changes in features and environment. - Unique IDs are something you ascribe to faces, not something they hand to you on a plate. - Sophisticated analysis needed. Example: even Baidu uses custom tricks for their facial recognition office ID with a known database of mugshots. I.e. not an unknown number of people in various conditions. RFID: - AFAIK can read many tags at once. - No need for line of sight. - Tags hand over a (likely) unique ID on demand - No need for deep learning experts at $100k> Seems to me microchips would be far easier to achieve creepy levels of tracking with.