A new wave: ‘chip in’ to open access
Imagine never having to remember a computer password again. Imagine walking into the bank and not wracking your brain for your ATM pin code. Or never wondering where you left your credit card or ID.
Imagine sailing through airport security without producing a driver’s license or passport. Or through your security gate at work without fumbling for an ID card that you left in your other jacket.
It’s not sci-fi fantasy. This wireless, keyless, cardless world is now dawning. Not only in Silicon Valley. Or in Elon Muskville.
Three Square Market of River Falls, a Wisconsin developer of vending-machine software, boasts it is the first U.S. company to implant microchips in its employees. The ricegrain-sized chip, implanted between the thumb and forefinger of employees who volunteered, emits a radio frequency that allows bearers to open doors, pay for purchases in the company cafeteria, share business cards and log into their computers, all with a wave of the hand.
So far, 43 of its 85 employees have been chipped.
We understand how some technophobes would find this creepy. Three Square promises it won’t be tracking its employees. But still. It’s easy to see how an innocent company promotion could morph into something Big Brotherish, particularly if the government starts chipping people.
But chips could also monitor body functions and alert medical authorities in emergencies. Children or people with memory issues would never be lost. Criminals could be monitored.
No wonder Musk, founder of Tesla cars and SpaceX, is a cheerleader for this technology. The entrepreneur launched Neuralink Corp. to explore technology of “implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts,” The Wall Street Journal reports. Hmm. Sounds like this could get … out of hand.
But we’re intrigued. Chip away, Three Square. Let’s see if this tech works as advertised.
Welcome progress amid disharmony
As first captain, the highest student position at the U.S. Military Academy, Simone Askew will stand out this academic year among the nearly 1,200 members of the Class of 2018. As the first African-American female to hold the prestigious honor, Askew will stand out for all eternity in West Point lore.
While it’s a well-deserved achievement for the 20-year-old from northern Virginia, it is also a monumental moment for the nation. The white nationalists marching in the streets and chanting racist slogans in Virginia could learn a few things about leadership, dignity and accomplishment from Cadet Askew.
An international-history major who is considering a career in military intelligence, Askew was the school president and homecoming queen at Fairfax High and spent summers working at orphanages in the Dominican Republic. Now, she has assumed a role that John J. Pershing, Douglas MacArthur and other generals once held at West Point.
The daughter of a white mother and AfricanAmerican father, Askew is a shining example of America’s strength and glory. It is a nation that can recognize free-speech rights, even for the hate-filled rants of smallminded bigots, and celebrate the gender and cultural triumph of a young woman who grew up with dreams of becoming a military leader.