Bill Gates has got you under your skin...

8 September 2007

A WARNING earlier this month from Microsoft chairman Bill Gates that computers will be implanted in the human body was last week followed by news that George Bush's former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is to have a microchip implanted under his skin.

The technology's advocates, on the other hand, argue that it will be a boon to the medical profession by allowing paramedics to access patients' medical records when they have lost consciousness following an accident.

The chips would also enable the emergency service to find people trapped in rubble following a terrorist bombing. The chips will also enhance government and corporate security by providing foolproof identification for people entering and leaving buildings.

VeriChips are encased in a capsule the size of a grain of rice and are typically inserted in the triceps area of the arm between the elbow and the shoulder.The chip is inserted following the administration of a local anaesthetic. Once under the skin, the chip is invisible to the naked eye but can be read by a scanner.

According to Microsoft's Bill Gates, even more advanced chips are under development that could be used to control certain bodily functions. Implants employing digital pulses that the brain interprets as sound can already be used to help profoundly deaf people hear and advances are being made on implants that can help fix eyesight problems.

Gates cited Ray Kurzwell, who he praised for his ability to see into the future of artificial intelligence, as believing that such computer links would become mainstream one day.

As previously reported in The Business, Microsoft last year filed a patent concerning the human body as a medium for transmission of data to devices such as mobile phones or handheld computers.