Microchips in humans inevitable: Alberta

Jodie Sinnema, CanWest News Service; Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON -- Imagine a world where you're taken unconscious and with no identification to a hospital. The doctor scans the microchip implanted
in your shoulder, downloads your medical identification number and
links up with a secure network that says you're a diabetic and
allergic to Tylenol.

Sounds ideal.

In a world where more than 230 physicians in the United States have
bought microchips for implantation in patients, and where a club owner
in Spain offers to implant VIP chips into posh people so they don't
need to carry credit cards or identification, the ethics of human
microchip technology needs to be debated in Canada, says a University
of Ottawa professor.

"This is all happening relatively quickly," said Ian Kerr, an expert
in ethics, law and technology who spoke Friday at the Access and
Privacy Conference in Edmonton. "I don't think we're that far off."

[...]

Kerr said it's hard to know if Canada would approve the chips for
human implantation.

Frank Work, Alberta's privacy commissioner, said he thinks it's
inevitable.

"Worried or scared, you know that if there is an advantage to it,
either economic or medical, someone is going to perfect it," Work
said. "Someone is going to bring it to a point where it can be used
in the near future.

"We'll do it in a well-intentioned way, wanting to look after people.
But like with anything, as soon as you bring in the well-intentioned application, someone will figure out the evil application."

Edmonton Journal

(c) CanWest News Service 2006

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Full article at "Raiders News Updates" http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/lead-story459.htm


Cheers, Steve..

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