How ‘human chipping’ influences who we are and who we think we are

Introduction

The question of personal identity is as old as philosophy itself and one might suspect that there is nothing new to be said about it¹. But the emergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) and their impact on human lives has led to a new area of investigation into the nature of personal identity². The question of our identities is not limited to the present but it extends to the future as well. Our future identities might be shaped by not one dominant technology but by a combination of emerging technologies such as Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, ICT and Cognitive Science (NBIC). One example of NBIC technology is what is popularly called ‘Human Chipping’ that involves implanting a small chip, which is functionally a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), in a human being. Implantation of chips is not specific to humans; many animals are implanted with these chips so that they can be tracked and identified. The state-of-the-art RFID chips are in the size of millimetres. This means there is a long way to go before these chips would be in nano-size. RFID chips were initially implanted in humans for medical purposes. But there is a growing trend for low-tech implants as people are curious³ and various establishments such as night clubs are using them.
In this article, I will focus on the question ‘How does ‘Human Chipping’ influence who we are and who we think we are?’ Before diving into this question, I will introduce RFID and the development from external tags to implanted chips. Then, I will discuss the implications of ‘Human Chipping’ on personal identity: if implants are an enhancement, if they turn us into cyborgs and if we are are artificial by nature.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

The basic elements of RFID have been known since the Second World War. Airplanes had an identification signal which enabled the ground stations and other airplanes to know their relative position. RFID technology is based on the principle of radio frequency transmission-reception⁴.
An RFID system is made up of two components: a transponder and a reader. A transponder, which represents the actual data-carrying-device of an RFID system, normally consists of a coupling element and an electronic microchip.

There are two types of transponders: passive and active. An active transponder possesses its own voltage supply (or battery) while a passive transponder does not. A passive transponder is only activated when it is within the response range of a reader (usually a few centimetres). The power required to activate the transponder is supplied to the transponder through the contactless coupling unit as is the timing pulse and data. A reader typically contains a high frequency module (transmitter and receiver), a control unit and a coupling element to the transponder.
RFID tags provide automatic identification wirelessly and this has led to a tremendous revolution in the applications of RFID technology with RFID tags being used in bank cards and passports, among others. The application of RFID technology now range from payment systems to industrial automation and access control. At the TU Darmstadt, RFID tags can also be found on Athena card and in the books from the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek (ULB). In this article the focus will be on RFID implants in humans. Implantable RFID chips initially found practical use in hospitals where they were implanted so that the patient could be monitored⁵. An implantable RFID chip, which is durable and about the size of a grain of rice, can hold or link to information about the identity, physiological characteristics, health, nationality, and security clearances of the person concerned. Implantable chips are also seen as a potential form of permanent identity card. Such an application implies that people will not need to carry separate personal documents with them⁶. Once implanted, they could serve as the single replacement for a number of identity cards. Implantable RFID chips have been designed and implanted successfully for animal tagging, and are now being used in some human beings.

Implication of ‘Human Chipping’ on personal identity

Technological implants in human beings is not a new phenomenon. The pacemaker is used by many people around the world to help their heart function properly. For the past few years, cochlear implants have been used on people whose hair cells in the inner ear become unresponsive. In this case the implant acts as a replacement for the lost functionality of hair cells. In both these examples, technology is used as a therapy in order to assist in normal functioning of the human being. In the case of cochlear implants, it has been observed that the person with the implant takes few weeks or months to get used to it. It is claimed that although the person is able to hear sounds again, the sounds that they hear is different from what they had experienced before going deaf. In the case of a child which is born deaf, the sounds heard due to the cochlear implant will be the only sounds known. Technology here is a mediator in helping humans achieve their goal of being able to hear sounds. There is no original perception mediated by technology but the mediated perception itself is the original⁷.
If cochlear implants could allow humans to listen to ultrasonic sounds (above 20 KHz frequency), for example, the sounds made by dolphins, then humans without cochlear implants cannot hear ultrasonic sounds. Would cochlear implants be a form of therapy or enhancement in this case? Another situation could be retinal implants which might allow a person to see infrared or ultraviolet which are considered beyond visible light. If a technology such as retinal implant is considered enhancement, then what about ‘Human Chipping’? Do human beings have a core or essence? If yes, then is the human essence separate from technology?

Are we Cyborgs already?

The first RFID implant on a human being was performed in August of 1998 on the upper left arm of Professor Kevin Warwick in Reading, England⁸. The implant was cylindrical in structure having a length of 22mm and diameter of 4mm. The doctor made a small hole, placed the RFID chip and closed the incision with a couple of stitches. The implant allowed Professor Warwick to control lights, open doors and even receive welcome messages when he arrived. His location in the building could be tracked and monitored. This was only experimental and, hence, other possible applications of the technology were not considered by the scientists at that time.
One of the first commercial application of RFID chips was to replace ‘medic alert’ bracelets by VeriChip Corporation in 2004⁹. It was approved by the FDA in the United States of America for human use. It was used to relay medical details when linked to online medical database. For example, the details of the patient’s diabetes can be stored in the chips and because it is implanted, the patient cannot forget it or lose it. Later on, the company also used these chips for infant protection and patient monitoring in hospitals. Nevertheless, non-implanted RFID tags are still more commonly used in hospitals than implantable tags. Subsequently these chips were used by nightclubs in Barcelona and Rotterdam to allow access to their VIP members. For example, at the Baja Beach Club in Rotterdam, these chips were implanted in their VIP members and were used for not only entry into the club but also for ordering drinks. For instance, if a member bought a drink, the chip could be read by an RFID reader and the amount can be deducted from the bank directly without the member getting hands on his wallet.
In these applications of ‘Human Chipping’, it can be seen that these RFID chips become an integral part of the person. A person who has an implanted RFID Chip in their arm for some time, would become used to its functionality and would not think of it as an electronic component but instead as a part of their body¹⁰. How is the RFID implant any different from a person’s leg, hand or any other part of the body? If a person loses their legs in an accident, they will not be able to walk. If prosthetic legs are used they would be able to walk again. These prosthetic legs are made to function as legs such that the person is not able to differentiate it from his legs. These prosthetic legs become a part of the person and are not experienced as an external component that they wear. Similarly, for the person whose diabetes is being monitored by the RFID implant, the chip becomes a part of the body. If the chip is removed, then the person’s existence would become difficult. Their body will not function properly. If we are considering the chip as part of the body, aren’t we cyborgs?
Let us look at it from the second-person point of view. You meet a person with diabetes who has a RFID chip with insulin pump implanted in their arm. You have an intense conversation with them for a couple of hours standing under the sun, with no knowledge about the implant. If they did not have the implant, they might have fainted. It made no difference to you whether they had a chip or not, just as it did not matter whether they had a kidney or not. Both the chip and kidney are inside the person and are integral to their existence. They are not consciously controlling the implanted chip just like they are not consciously controlling the functioning of their kidneys. Without either they would not be able to function properly.
One experiment done by researchers from Vrije University in Amsterdam amplifies the argument that we become cyborgs when we have implanted chips. Their experiment involved placing a malictious computer code on a RFID tag so that if the tag is read by the building management system, it will be infected by the virus¹¹. Depending on the virus, it could disrupt the functioning of the building system or spread the virus to the tags used by others. Though this experiment sheds light on the security issues of the technology, we can look at its implications on personal identity. The spread of the computer virus using the implant is analogous to the spread of a communicable disease such as tuberculosis. The virus originates from the RFID tag implanted in a person and passes on to others, which makes it impossible to distinguish the RFID tag from the person and claim that the virus originated from the tag but not from the person. Think of a situation in which this computer virus corrupts the functioning of every RFID chip that it infects. It might be fatal to a person whose insulin intake is dependent on the RFID chip. This could be a criminal offence but only if the chip is considered to be a part of the offender (the person), which would make the offender a cyborg.

Are implants an enhancement?

As mentioned earlier, one of the first commercial application of RFID implants was in the field of medicine in order to monitor patients. This would be considered as a therapy by the hospital. But if we consider the vast number of people who do not have access to such technology but have the same diseases, it seems that patients with implant are privileged and that the implant is an enhancement to their functioning as human beings. Some might say that the privileged ones are ‘better than normal’¹². They can upload their information or data into the database of the hospital through the internet unconsciously. They don’t need to click a button to send the information. In certain regards, they are uploading a part of themselves which could be looked upon as extending their memory¹³. They may not consciously know or remember their current blood sugar level but the medical database of their hospital is updated with the information that can be accessed later.
One possible application of RFID chips would be to implant them on the finger tips of a person. Let us consider that a policeman is implanted with a RFID chip containing an infrared sensor, which senses heat, on the index finger of his right hand. If they are entering a house that is too dark to apprehend a crime suspect, they can find direction in which the suspect is through spatial movement of their right hand. This gives them additional power compared to their colleagues and is certainly an enhancement to their ‘human qualities’.
But Professor Mark Gasson from Reading University has a different view. He does not consider the implants as an enhancement¹⁴. Though very few people have RFID implants now, he thinks that soon almost everyone will have it. He compares RFID implants to mobile phones. Earlier not many people used mobile phones but within a few years almost every adult in certain countries consider it to be a necessity and they feel out of place if they do not have a mobile phone. It is possible that in the near future, implants may not remain optional but people might be obligated to be ‘chipped’. We may soon find ourselves in a world where not being ‘chipped’ may be looked down upon by the rest of the society.

Artificial by nature

Most human beings (for now) consider implantation of RFID chips in the body as unnatural. But what is natural? One could say that what we are when we are born and the genetic information that we pass on to our children is natural. We are born naked, but we wear clothes to keep ourselves warm. Clothes are not natural to us. We are deprived of properties such as thick skin or fur which many other animals have¹⁵. We fulfil our requirements using technology.
It is natural that people contract diseases such as cancer and AIDS among others. Earthquakes and hurricanes are natural disasters. But these are not necessarily good for human beings. If it is possible to improve the situation through technological intervention, then why not? Like all changes in the society, be it technological or not, we need to weigh the pros and cons. If the benefits outweigh the negatives then transhumanists would claim that there is no necessity for being sceptical about the technology¹⁶. Aristotle said that nature is grown while technology is made. Habermas claims that these categories de-differentiate when we interfere with nature¹⁷. He says humans should act morally as self-creating and autonomous beings. He claims that our interference leads to two categories: the ‘programmers’ and the ‘programmed’. The ‘programmer’ treats the other person as object and has an attitude of domination while the ‘programmed’ feels less free and loses autonomy as the attitude and behaviour is encoded. If Habermas’ categorization is applied to ‘Human Chipping’, the person or the organization who are implanting RFID chips on other human beings are the ‘programmers’ while the person with the implant is the ‘programmed’.

« Let us consider that a policeman is implanted with a RFID chip containing an infrared sensor, which senses heat, on the index finger of his right hand. If they are entering a house that is too dark to apprehend a crime suspect, they can find direction in which the suspect is through spatial movement of their right hand. »

Let us consider the situation where newly born children are implanted with RFID chips. Initially these chips are used for identifying the infant in the hospital. This chip would be useful to monitor the health of the child throughout its life. Note the lack of possibility of obtaining informed consent. So the ‘programmed’ has no autonomy to choose if it wants to be programmed or not. Humans are ‘by nature’ artificial and have no ‘natural origin’ and, thus, humans are a prosthetic being. Human evolution is the result of technical exteriorization of life. Humans are not autonomous but are ‘programmed’ by technology¹⁸.

Conclusion

In our technological culture, personal identity is continuously changing. RFID chip implants is one technology that is shaping the identities of human beings. Once a chip has been implanted in a person, it becomes a part of the person and one can’t differentiate the chip from the person. Such a person with organic as well as biomechatronic parts can be said to be a cyborg. Initial applications of RFID implants was in the field of medicine and mostly for therapeutic purposes. But newer applications could give humans extra abilities that people without implants will not have. Through this argument, RFID implants are an enhancement to a human being. If most people in the world get ‘chipped’ and have additional abilities, then the implants may not be considered an enhancement as that ability would not be a privilege anymore.
Human beings are born without many physical properties that animals have. For example, humans do not have thick skin or fur to protect them from cold. In order to compensate for this deficiency, humans utilise technology. In doing so, humans are artificial ‘by nature’ and are programmed by technology. When humans are not only the ‘programmed’ but also the ‘programmer’, the artificiality of our nature becomes more prominent. Humans and technology are neither independent from nor completely dependent on each other. But human identity is developed by continuous interaction with technology.

Footnotes