The Swedish are ahead of the game when it come to microchip ID technology, but the concept might get under other people's skin.
Those willing to set their fears aside are having rice grain-sized microchips that store one's personal identification injected into their hands. It's the way of the future.
According to Agence France-Presse, the procedure, first introduced to Sweden in 2015, is done with a syringe and causes a sensation similar to a "slight sting."
Today, there are over 3,000 Swedes who walk around with the embedded chip in their hands.
Ulrika Celsing is a 28-year-old employee of media agency Mindshare and is chip-enabled.
She uses the identification technology to enter the work space simply by waving her hand over a small scanning box.
After entering a code, the doors open to allow access.
Biohacking is a term used to describe the modification of bodies through technology, according to Business Insider, who cited Apple Watches and Fitbits as examples.
The Swedes are all about trying the new technology. The country has a population of 10 million people with most of them willing to share personal information that is already shared with the country's social security system.
Celsing expressed her enthusiasm for the microchip tech.
"It was fun to try something new and to see what one could use it for to make life easier in the future."
You can watch AP's report on the new technology in the YouTube clip, below.
Swedish rail operator accepts microchip tickets www.youtube.com
Celsing's chip doubles as her gym card, and she also uses it to book railway tickets through Sweden's SJ national railway company's microchip-enabled reservation service.
Since 2017, SJ conductors have been scanning the hands of passengers with the biometric chips to collect fares.
Despite the technological convenience and protection from hacking, Celsing still remains a little cautious.
"I don't think our current technology is enough to get chip hacked. But I may think about this again in the future. I could always take it out then."While the implantation procedure could threaten the immune system with infection, Ben Libberton — a microbiologist working for MAX IV Laboratory in the southern city of Lund — is more concerned about the possibility of one's data being compromised.
"At the moment, the data collected and shared by implants is small, but it's likely that this will increase."
"If a chip can one day detect a medical problem, who finds out and when?"The researcher told AFP that "the more data is stored in a single place as could happen with a chip, the more risk it could be used against us."
And that is something the general public is shivering about.
Exactly.
Hannes Sjöblad, founder of the Swedish biohacking group Bionyfiken. noted Biohacking's increasing demand.
He said "The human body is the next big platform" and sees the future of wearables like the Apple Watch becoming a thing of the past.
"We are updating our bodies with technology on a large scale already with wearables. But all of the wearables we wear today will be implantable in five to 10 years."
"Who wants to carry a clumsy smartphone or smartwatch when you can have it in your fingernail? I think that is the direction where it is heading."
Great strides come with greater responsibilities. But not everyone outside of Scandinavia is on board.
Libberton told AFP that the Swedes are more open to the invasive technology.
"In Sweden, people are very comfortable with technology and I would say there is less resistance to new technology here than in most other places."
America, are you ready for this?
