Notably, more states are enacting pre-emptive bans to prevent employers from requiring that their workers be microchipped.
“U.S. states are increasingly enacting legislation to pre-emptively ban employers from forcing workers to be ‘microchipped,’ which entails having a subdermal chip surgically inserted between one’s thumb and index finger," wrote the authors of the report. "Internationally, more than 50,000 people have elected to receive microchip implants to serve as their swipe keys, credit cards, and means to instantaneously share social media information. This technology is especially popular in Sweden, where chip implants are more widely accepted to use for gym access, e-tickets on transit systems, and to store emergency contact information.”
But why are these states taking this proactive action to ban microchip implants before any evidence has emerged of widespread misuse? According to Mississippi state Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R), who proposed a state bill to pre-emptively ban human microchip implants in 2024 despite no employers in his state currently requiring it, this technology poses a risk to employees’ rights. Blackwell said, “Technology today is advancing at a rapid pace and as a legislator we need to be aware of the use and misuse of this [microchip implant] technology.”
OTHER PERSPECTIVES ON MICROCHIP IMPLANTS
At the same time, and on the other end of the spectrum, Elon Musk, who is the CEO of Neuralink, praised the many advances of human brain interfaces and the first human trials to help people overcome various diseases. This video from one year ago showcases some of the ongoing cases.
Also in 2024, Musk predicted that "hundreds of millions" of people will have his brain chips within the next 20 years.
The promise-happy billionaire has not only declared that Neuralink is going to be full steam ahead, but that patients will be outperforming pro gamers within two years. And that's not even his wildest claim. Musk reckons Neuralink is going to have to speed up human brains so that AI doesn't get "bored."
Reuters reported in August that Neuralink implanted a second trial patient with a brain chip.
What are the potential benefits of this new technology in the medium term?
I asked Google Gemini that question. Google Gemini responded: "Neuralink's future plans include:
- Brain-to-computer interfaces — Neuralink hopes to create direct brain-to-computer interfaces that allow people to control digital devices with their thoughts.
- Treating neurological disorders — Neuralink could treat neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease, memory loss, addiction, insomnia, schizophrenia, and seizures.
- Restoring movement — Neuralink could help people with paralysis or amputations control exoskeletons and prosthetics to restore movement.
- Merging with artificial intelligence — Neuralink's long-term vision is to combine human consciousness with artificial intelligence.
- Human enhancement — Neuralink could enhance cognitive abilities and memory.
- Robot limbs — Neuralink could implant robotic limbs derived from Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot.
- Digital autonomy for people with quadriplegia — Neuralink's goal is to restore digital autonomy to people with quadriplegia due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
- High-performance interface — Neuralink's goal is to provide a high-performance interface that enhances the control of digital devices for people with quadriplegia.
- Neuralink's current device is called the N1 Implant, which is a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant that records neural activity."
WHAT ABOUT HACKING MICROCHIP IMPLANTS?
Kim Komando recently explored the question, can a brain chip implant be hacked?
The response was apparently “Yes,” from Neuralink’s first patient. However, Noland Arbaugh shared with Kim that he believes the benefits outweigh the risks.
Business Today summarized a similar hacking conversation that was held with Mr. Arbaugh and the well-known podcaster Joe Rogan.
“The experiment did face a hiccup a couple of months back," Business Today wrote. "Notably, the company’s system, called the Link, records neural signals using 1,024 electrodes across 64 'threads' that are thinner than a human hair. Some of the electrode-studded threads that sit in the brain tissue began to retract from that tissue. To this, Arbaugh explained that this happened because the brain's pulsations, much more pronounced than initially believed, led to early challenges with the implant's threads retracting, affecting signal clarity. Nevertheless, Neuralink’s ongoing adjustments on the software side have improved system performance significantly.”
And to give equal time, these brain microchip implants are being explored by others as well, as Singularity Hub reported in a piece titled, "Neuralink Rival’s Biohybrid Implant Connects to the Brain With Living Neurons."
“California-based startup Science Corporation thinks that an implant using living neurons to connect to the brain could better balance safety and precision," Singularity Hub wrote. "In recent non-peer-reviewed research posted on bioarXiv, the group showed a prototype device could connect with the brains of mice and even let them detect simple light signals.”
That same piece quotes Alan Mardinly, who is director of biology at Science Corporation, as saying that the advantages of a biohybrid implant are that it "can dramatically change the scaling laws of how many neuros you can interface with versus how much damage you do to the brain."
Science Corporation CEO Max Hodak is a former president of Neuralink, and his company also produces a retinal implant using more conventional electronics that can restore vision in some patients. But the company has been experimenting with so-called “biohybrid” approaches, which Hodak thinks could provide a more viable long-term solution for brain-machine interfaces.
A BRIEF HISTORY ON THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT TOPIC
Here are some of my previous pieces which provide some background and a brief history on chip implants in humans — as well as the privacy implications:
March 2024: Human Brain Chip Implants: Helpful? Safe? Ethical? — Major developments regarding implanting chips in human brains have been announced in 2024. Will this procedure become widespread? Are precautions — or even regulations — needed?
February 2023: From Progress to Bans: How Close Are Human Microchip Implants? — A lot has happened in the past 12 months regarding human microchip implants. Here’s your roundup of recent developments.
November 2018: Chip Implants: The Next Big Privacy Debate — Some say we will all, eventually, be chipped. Others say — never! Let the privacy, legal, technical, professional, medical, security, political, religious and ‘oh so personal’ battles begin.
July 2017: Where Next for Microchip Implants? — Employees at Three Square Market, a technology company in Wisconsin, will have a small chip injected in their hands this week for security convenience. But where is this biohacking trend heading? Is there a microchip implant in your future?
FINAL THOUGHTS
As I have written before, I think this overall microchip implant trend is unstoppable, and we should welcome the major benefits to these implanted chips for health reasons. This research can help in curing some diseases, and can bring amazing benefits as mentioned above in this article.
And yet at the same time, I have big reservations (even opposition) regarding the use of implanted chips for human brain augmentation or creating “super humans” with faster brain powers.
Even using microchip implants for voluntary conveniences now could lead to more mandates later. This could be misused in many ways, and fears from privacy groups, religious communities and others must be taken seriously — including hacking considerations.
But I want to close by pointing out that most of the attention with Elon Musk being involved with the new Trump administration focuses on his policy and ethics impacts (and possibly even some conflicts of interest) with his joint roles as CEO of Tesla, X (formerly Twitter) and SpaceX. No doubt, as the world’s richest man, who is a brilliant expert and thought leader in many areas, Musk will help the U.S. and the world in many scientific ways as he leads his companies to advance technology and innovation. Bottom line, I am glad he is on our team, as he no doubt seeks to do good.
However, it is likely, in my opinion, that in the long run Musk’s role with the Department of Government Efficiency and his other government advisory duties in a second Trump administration will have a greater impact on artificial intelligence policies and ethics as well as the human-brain interface. Musk's influence will likely grow in how implanted microchips in humans develop and are regulated.
We need to pay close attention to policies and ethics regarding this microchip implant topic now, before life-changing mistakes are made.
