Envision a universe from the future in which each human on Earth functions as a intelligent sensor system and voluntarily opts in to the scheme at no cost? Say hello to the latest cyborg phenomenon referred to as "chipping."
Folks pay around $300 to have a tattoo artist or alternative body modification professional add a capsule under their skin -- typically involving the index and thumb finger. The device, about the size of a grain of rice, unlock computers is an RFID tag and enables its host to open doors, or even pay for services and goods.
It's tough to envision this leaving anytime soon and there are concerns regarding privacy and security although it is still early days. Wouldn't it be good to simply swipe your hands to whisk through long lines at the airport or buy that candy bar? The convenience is just too tempting.
So will we all chip ourselves?
Consider each of the possibilities if >7B people were linked right to a massive wireless sensor system that could detect all sorts of internal and external environmental conditions -- temperature, humidity, light, radiation, air quality, acceleration, position -- that the list is endless. It would be among the greatest IoT networks the world has ever known. The Web will no longer be a sea of faceless humming web pages and servers. It will come alive.
The embedded detectors don't just need to track the surroundings. They will be able to identify the efficacy of prescribed medication in real-time, create diet recommendations on the fly, and tell you exactly what foods you should eat for optimum performance -- whether that is an extremely aggressive sporting event or only a run-of-the-mill day in the office. No longer will we have to suppose or "get lucky" when it comes to health, wellbeing and fitness.
Yes, security professionals and privacy advocates will have a field day predicting the consequences of the new world but it will not stop toward it. Blockchain technology encryption, miniaturization, remote charging, along with techniques yet to be devised will win out ultimately.
An society's benefits simply outweigh the downsides.
We already embed microchips to our critters to help us find them if they have lost. When do you think we will start chipping children at birth? Lots of you may bristle at that thought but it would not surprise me if the clinic were commonplace in 10--20 years.
Let's face it -- humans are the ideal sensors. We're rechargeable, self-correcting long lasting, and intelligent by default.
It won't be long before the IoT systems we construct directly incorporate people into the solution. In certain ways we have but the people are sitting behind swiping or keyboards on touch screens. The man machine interface that is greatest is just round the corner. Strange and fascinating times indeed...