Computer Chips Get Under Skin of Enthusiasts
original article
"With a wave of his hand, Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, opens his front door. With another, he logs onto his computer."
"The computer chips, which cost about $2, interact with a device installed in computers and other electronics. The chips are activated when they come within 3 inches of a so-called reader, which scans the data on the chips. The "reader" devices are available for as little as $50."
This kind of technology is scary, not just because of it's biblical allusions, but also of it's ramifications for everyday life. We are now starting to bond with our technology. We now have to deal with what is part of a person and what is not. If you get a memory chip in your brain, does Intel still have rights over it? If someone disrupts your implants is that property damage or assault on you?
Security is another issue. Of course, there will always be the race of coming up with better security measures and then criminals figuring out how to break them.
Some think that we are more civilized than our ancestors. I do not believe that to be the case. We simply have better tools than them. Technology provides us with tools that multiply the effect of our actions. Perhaps we should be working on morality before we continue to develop tools that multiply the effect of our actions. After all, one person can now destroy a city with a suitcase nuclear bomb. One person can cause tremendous economic damage by tampering with the internet.
In 20 years one person will be able to destroy entire counties, in 30 all of humanity. Do we really think we can get by without an absolute moral standard. Perhaps we do, and the lack of that little thing called morality will be our doom, not some superweapon.
"With a wave of his hand, Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, opens his front door. With another, he logs onto his computer."
"The computer chips, which cost about $2, interact with a device installed in computers and other electronics. The chips are activated when they come within 3 inches of a so-called reader, which scans the data on the chips. The "reader" devices are available for as little as $50."
This kind of technology is scary, not just because of it's biblical allusions, but also of it's ramifications for everyday life. We are now starting to bond with our technology. We now have to deal with what is part of a person and what is not. If you get a memory chip in your brain, does Intel still have rights over it? If someone disrupts your implants is that property damage or assault on you?
Security is another issue. Of course, there will always be the race of coming up with better security measures and then criminals figuring out how to break them.
Some think that we are more civilized than our ancestors. I do not believe that to be the case. We simply have better tools than them. Technology provides us with tools that multiply the effect of our actions. Perhaps we should be working on morality before we continue to develop tools that multiply the effect of our actions. After all, one person can now destroy a city with a suitcase nuclear bomb. One person can cause tremendous economic damage by tampering with the internet.
In 20 years one person will be able to destroy entire counties, in 30 all of humanity. Do we really think we can get by without an absolute moral standard. Perhaps we do, and the lack of that little thing called morality will be our doom, not some superweapon.
posted by Phil at
9:28 AM
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