The Next Generation is Cyborg

Maxine Martinez, CO-EDITOR IN CHIEF

     In an age of technology, innovation, and overall efficiency, many people have seen the appeal of human microchipping. In Sweden about 6,000 people have undergone the procedure “to make daily life convenient. They open a perspective to replace traditional keys, cards, IDs, and even train tickets with a microchip” (eufactcheck). In the US, one man in particular, James Rosemergry, wrote in his article titled “My Attempt to Become a Disney Cyborg — Part I” about his own escapades in getting microchipped.  He implanted an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag into his arm and then cloned his magicband to it. While his experiment unfortunately failed, one woman succeeded. Known by the name “Mrs. Frett” on Twitch, “she had a custom chip manufactured by Dangerous Things from an existing MagicBand, and had that chip surgically implanted in her right wrist” (touring plans).  With biohacking and microchips gaining popularity and interest, one question remains. How do PPCHS students feel about the microchips and the people, like Rosemary, who are not afraid to be part of the advancement?

  “While human microchipping definitely expresses a new, modern age, it just seems unnecessary. I don’t think it’s realistic that a lot of people would go out of their way just to experiment with that.” – freshman Rebekah Barrera 

  “I know that technology has advanced and a lot of the new advancements are really cool but microchipping sounds scary there’s already a lot of things that violate our privacy by tracking us or taking our private information and this sounds even worse, and it seems dangerous to have metals and technology in our body. Some people might think being microchipped is more convenient and i think it’s a personal choice if you want to get microchipped or not.”- sophomore Chanell Thomas

  “It’s inevitable. Whether we like it or not man will continue to integrate technological enhancements into our anatomy. A good example is with Elon Musk putting his Neuralink chip onto a monkey’s brain, so it could play video games. I feel like it is a path that should be explored with extreme caution, because it can be very beneficial for us.” – junior Andres Alvarez

  “Technology is ever-changing and there has to be someone to test out those new technologies even on themselves. I, however, will not be one of those people. I prefer my MagicBand outside my body.” – senior Alyssa Hernandez