"The Rise of Homo Electricus" by Dr Katina Michael and Dr M.G. Michael
 In 1948 when the first ENIAC computer was officially launched, who could have imagined that one day the giant technological beast covering 1500 square feet of floor space could fit neatly inside the human body, measuring no more than the size of a grain of rice. In 1998 Professor Kevin Warwick of the University of Reading demonstrated the potential of chip implants for access control and location tracking applications. Today, there are thousands of people who subscribe to VeriChip services, voluntary subjects being injected with tiny transponders implanted in the subdermal layer of the skin. Humancentric tracking and monitoring applications based on technologies such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) are now even being fitted to passports, and have some civil libertarians questioning whether they will soon be implanted into every citizen under the guise of national security. It is this potential for mandatory consignment, that was once seen as a far-fetched conspiracy theory, but which has now gained increasing sobriety as a possible trajectory of the technology, that has some researchers debating the ethical implications behind chip implants for anything other than diagnostic medical purposes or corrective medical treatment.
One international group made up by intellectuals, the transhumanist movement, welcome advances in technology as a way to extend life. They hope that before too long, humans can do away with the flesh altogether. Another group made up by some members of the Christian faith believe that chip implants may well be the mark of the beast. There are still other groups such as privacy advocates who oppose the implantation of chips into humans because they believe it is in breach of basic human rights. Indeed in some parts of the United States , like the state of Wisconsin , there are anti-human-chipping laws. Independent of the position held, there is an ethical debate surrounding the technology, its current and potential use and application. The debate begins by raising issues of ownership, accessibility, property, safety, accuracy, trust, and privacy and considers the future possibilities. What lies beyond chip implants? A mandatory universal lifetime identifier for every person? Or the rise of homo electricus and the continued speciation of humans?
RSVP and Information: Vicky Wallace on 4221 4126 or email vwallace@uow.edu.au
 This lecture is an Australian Innovation Festival Event
More at: www.ausinnovation.org
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