Testimony: chip implanted in the hand is useless – 01/31/2023 – Market

At the end of 2017, I decided to implant a biochip in my left hand. The process of approaching a cyborg came full of ideas for applications, but in the end, the biohacker intervention didn’t see much use.

This chip is a small electronic device, little bigger than a grain of cooked rice, wrapped in a sterile glass and resistant enough to withstand hammer blows (I accidentally tested it). Using radio waves, other devices communicate in a process that also energizes the device, dispensing with a battery.

It is inserted under the skin with a microchip syringe, like those used in animals, which has a thick needle. It hurts like a sting, especially in the hours after the procedure.

Mine was placed in the pocket between my thumb and forefinger — a strategic position, commonly used for this implant, for ease of touching things and offering less risk. The professionals recommended for the application are doctors and body piercers indicated by the manufacturer itself, Dangerous Things (“dangerous things”, in English).

Despite its name, it does not pose an imminent risk to my health. After installation, I reached out to Dr. Teng Hsiang Wei, a specialist in hand surgery at Hospital Sírio-Libanês, who evaluated the oddity. Everything in order.

The doctor also suggested a use that may be interesting for the future: include health information there. In an eventual emergency, rescuers would have access to essential information – such as allergies and blood type – even with the patient unconscious. For that, however, it would be necessary to have a greater adoption of technology of the type, so that it would be known that this data would be there.

The chip is not metallic, so it is not a problem in airport security or for MRI scans. It also doesn’t have anything that allows you to track location, like a GPS.

And what, after all, does this biochip do? The short answer is: for me, nothing.

There are different versions, which vary in functionality and the radio frequencies they operate on. They can be more flexible (to be installed in other parts of the body) and include LED light. On the shelf of biohacker implants, there are even magnets to install on your fingertips, allowing you to feel magnetic fields and stick to metallic objects.

The model I have is called xNT. It communicates on the NFC frequency (acronym for “proximity field communication”), the same used in cell phones and payment machines in that proximity function. It is also found in some smart locks.

With the smartphone, I can store a minimal amount of information on the chip, equivalent to about half a page of text. With this, it is possible to configure commands that a cell phone executes when interacting with the implant: it opens a specific video on YouTube, accesses a bitcoin wallet, searches for an address on the map, etc.

I usually leave my contacts there. That is, if someone puts the phone in my hand, they can automatically add me to the agenda.

In practice, however, the process has several holes and looks experimental. This story of passing my contacts to someone, for example, worked very few times.

First, because it doesn’t work with all smartphones — with the iPhone it only works if the person already has a specific app installed. Second, because many people have no idea what NFC is, and leave the feature disabled on their phone. Also, the chip is hidden under my skin, which causes interference. Cell phone covers make the situation worse and, as a result, it is not always possible to connect. More common is to look like a fool trying to show off this technological toy.

In the case of locks and other NFC equipment, it is difficult to find devices in Brazil that are compatible with the chip. When possible, the price is steep. There are cheaper things that could work, like a reader used to unlock the computer, but I prefer to use the fingerprint for that.

Payments just don’t work. For this function, the equipment would need to be approved by credit card issuers. Card machines even detect the chip, but then show an error. There are other specific biochip options for this purpose.