Wisconsin retail facilitator 32market.com has announced that it will offer optional radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip implants to its employees. The move heralds a deeper dive into the ever-closer relationship between worker and employer.
More than 50 employees of the retail tech company intend to have the chips installed in the small patch of skin connecting the thumb and the forefinger of the right hand, according to ABC-affiliate KSTP-TV.The retail technology company has offered its employees microchips the size of rice kernels, which can be implanted "within seconds," to quote the firm's website.
"It's the next thing that's inevitably going to happen," vowed the firm's CEO, who added, "we want to be a part of it," cited by Usatoday.com
The tiny microchip will allow employees of the company to wave their hand over a reader, opening doors that they are authorized to open and simplifying the payment process even further.
"We foresee the use of RFID technology to drive everything from making purchases in our office break room market, opening doors, use of copy machines, logging into our office computers, unlocking phones, sharing business cards, storing medical/health information, and used as payment at other RFID terminals," according to a company advertizing brochure.
"Eventually, this technology will become standardized, allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, and all purchasing opportunities," the brochure asserted.
While many futurists, business owners and security consultants have noted the benefits of bio-chipping, critics the practice observe that it creates an environment in which monitoring and surveillance becomes so pervasive that every action or movement can be tracked.
Employees at the company have been assured that those who opt to be chipped will not be subject to GPS tracking.
