In recent class discussions, we have discussed the relation between the integration of technology into daily life and episodes of Netflix’s hit series Black Mirror. Each episode of the British series focuses on new characters and a new piece of technology that affects their lives, often resulting in unsettling and twisted fates. I personally believe that Black Mirror and its creators use these stories, whether uplifting or jaw-dropping, to convey that while advances in technology are exciting, we should not shun natural human tendencies in favor of them.
One Black Mirror episode almost directly relates to an article I recently saw about something interesting happening in Sweden. Without giving away the details for those intrigued enough to watch, the episode, named “Arkangel”, details the story of how an overprotective mother uses a microchip inserted into her child’s head to track her location, monitor her health and censor her surroundings. While we can easily turn Netflix off and be relieved that nothing like this would ever happen, it appears this dystopian future has become a reality right under our noses. I recently read an article about people in Sweden having an implant the size of a grain of rice inserted into their hand, allowing their wallet, keys and ID to be ingrained in their bodies. Additionally, these microchips can be used to access buildings and facilities and even hold a digital train ticket can also be purchased using the chip. I may be first hearing about this, but people have been getting microchipped in Sweden since at least 2015 and in its earliest phases, people went to underground “implant parties” to have them inserted. Now, as the technology has progressed, more people are getting them and microchips are starting to become more mainstream. There is no central data collector that can verify exactly how many people have received the implant, but the reported number is 3,000 and climbing.
On a surface level, I can see the benefits of having these things right on the back of your hand rather than its normal form. The risk of losing these items is almost 0% – unless you unfortunately lose your hand – and it makes these processes go by faster and smoother. But my main concern is just how far this microchip intends to go. Eventually, I believe more and more of life will be reduced to code and imbedded in the chip which would only increase our dependence on technology. Furthermore, these tech companies would have increasing access to different aspects of our lives, getting more and more personal with every update. To make matters worse, these small chips are not very protected and are prone to hacking, giving even more people even more access to even more private data. Yet this does not seem to faze the people of Sweden. In fact, the Swedish citizens have been very open to sharing personal data with the government and other administrations because it promotes a transparent society. This concept raises some important questions: does willingness to offer personal information increase or reduce crimes related to data leakage? If something is free for all can you really steal it? More importantly, is America’s emphasis on data protection indirectly creating stronger systems that can still retrieve the data for personal use? Is Sweden on to something or is this truly the beginning of the end for the human race?