Elon Musk has set up Neuralink, a company focusing on integrating machines with people. The idea is that the brain is just a computational engine, so we can enhance it by lacing it with wires and connecting it to the cloud.
However, many commentators are wondering whether this approach is necessary. Altering the human organism to keep pace with technology seems strange, given that invention serves us, not the other way around.
This insight is leading many people to question whether there’s any point in getting chips put under the skin for payment. While they might offer convenience, the benefits might be overblown.
The Pros
The pros of having a payment chip inserted into your body are well-known. People are excited about these devices because they can make going to the store more convenient. Once you finish paying for what you need, you can walk past a smart payment terminal without having to fiddle about in your wallet.
There’s also an argument that these payment methods are more secure than loose cards. Anyone can tap and pay with a credit or debit card, but it is much more challenging to do that with a chip inserted into your forearm. Technically it is possible, but opportunistic thieves are likely to think twice. (Plus, there’s no way of anyone knowing you have a payment chip in your body unless they see you using it).
Payment card chips could also have health applications, monitoring things like blood glucose levels and ensuring that you remain fit. Developers could get better readings of blood markers than using scanners that sit above the skin’s surface.
The Drawbacks
Those were the benefits. However, there are significant drawbacks to having payment chips inserted into your body.
The main problem is privacy concerns. Having a chip inside you means that anyone could potentially track you wherever you go. You could also reveal health information to third parties, breaking patient confidentiality.
Another issue is security. Payment chips remain vulnerable to hacking and manipulation. Anyone with the proper equipment could potentially hijack them, leading to serious ethical issues.
The security situation could also deteriorate over time. While systems are in place today to protect users from hacking, these may not be as strong in the future as technology improves. That could represent a significant shift away from using these systems and going back to old-fashioned or even non-digital methods.
There are also moral and philosophical concerns about adding chips to the human body. Things like unknown health risks and loss of bodily autonomy can discourage some people from making the switch.
Finally, there’s the fact that inserting these chips requires breaking the body’s skin, something that most people don’t want to do. While devices are becoming smaller, there’s no way of getting them inside, other than opening the skin, which some people find unpleasant.
Conclusion
Perhaps the biggest reason payment chips inside bodies won’t happen is that it doesn’t offer much more convenience than simple card or phone-based payments. These methods already reduce friction to near-zero, it’s hard to imagine it reducing further.
