Thousands of Swedes are inserting microchips into themselves – here’s why
Thousands of Swedes are inserting microchips into
themselves – here’s why
They've been inserting NFC chips somewhere between the
thumb and the index finger. These are the same microchips that have been used
to track animals and packages
June 25, 2018 1:21 PM EDT
Thousands of people in Sweden have inserted microchips,
which can function as contactless credit cards, key cards and even rail cards,
into their bodies. Once the chip is underneath your skin, there is no longer
any need to worry about misplacing a card or carrying a heavy wallet. But for
many people, the idea of carrying a microchip in their body feels more
dystopian than practical.
Some have suggested that Sweden’s strong welfare state
may be the cause of this recent trend. But actually, the factors behind why
roughly 3,500 Swedes have had microchips implanted in them are more complex
than you might expect. This phenomenon reflects Sweden’s unique biohacking
scene. If you look underneath the surface, Sweden’s love affair with all things
digital goes much deeper than these microchips.
The term biohackers refers to those amateur biologists
who conduct experiments in biomedicine, but do so outside of traditional
institutions – such as universities, medical companies and other scientifically
controlled environments. Just as computer hackers hack computers, biohackers
hack anything biological.
Biohacking is also a culture and a diverse one, with many
different subgroups – all with different types of interests, goals and
ideologies. But within this diversity there are two main groups: “wetware
hackers” and transhumanists.
Wetware hackers are citizen science hobby biologists who
build laboratory equipment from household utensils. They conduct so called
“frugal science”, where they find inexpensive solutions that will improve the
living standards for people in developing countries. But they also do more
playful experiments where plants are genetically modified to become
fluorescent, or algae is used to make new types of beer.
The other group are the transhumanists, who focus on
enhancing and improving the human body – with the aim, in the long run, of
improving the human race. Only through bettering ourselves – and escaping
biological boundaries – will humans be able to compete with AI in the future.
Often, different biohacking scenes reflect the different
societies and cultures in which they develop. So, for example, European
biohackers generally differ from their North American counterparts. North
American groups are concerned with developing alternatives to the established
healthcare practices. European groups, meanwhile, are more focused on finding
ways of helping people in developing countries or engaging in artistic
bio-projects.
But Swedish biohacking culture actually differs from the
rest of Europe. Swedish biohackers are generally part of the transhumanist
movement. And it is the transhumanists – or more specifically the subgroup
“grinders” – who have been inserting NFC chips somewhere between the thumb and
the index finger of thousands of Swedes. These are the same microchips that
have been used for decades to track animals and packages.
So why are Swedes so happy to put microchips into their
body? One theory put forward is that Swedes are more prone to sharing their
personal details because of the way the Swedish social security system is
structured.
This myth of the “naive Swede”, who innocently trusts the
government and Sweden’s national institutions, is an exaggeration – which has
even been noted by the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If it is part of
the explanation, it is certainly not the whole truth. More convincing is the
fact that in Sweden, people have a strong faith in all things digital. Swedish
people have a deep belief in the positive potential of technology.
Over the past two decades, the Swedish government has
invested heavily in technology infrastructure – and it shows. The Swedish
economy is now largely based on digital export, digital services and digital
tech innovations. And Sweden has become one of the most successful countries in
the world at creating and exporting digital products. Notable companies, such
as Skype and Spotify, were founded in Sweden.
A belief in digital technology and a trust in its
potential has strongly affected Swedish culture. And the transhumanist movement
has built upon this. In fact, Sweden played an important part in the formation
of the transhumanist ideology. The global transhumanist foundation Humanity+
was co-founded by the Swede Nick Bostrom in 1998. Since then, many Swedes have
become convinced that they should be trying enhance and improve their
biological bodies.
So as the world expresses shock at the number of people
being microchipped in Sweden, we should use this opportunity to delve deeper
into Sweden’s remarkable relationship with all thing digital. After all, this
latest phenomenon is just one manifestation of an underlying faith in
technology that makes Sweden quite unique.
Moa Petersén is a Lecturer in Digital Culture, Lund
University.
This article was originally published on The
Conversation. Read th
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