The worst part about all this is that not only does it make sense from the perspective of a government who is trying to protect its citizens OR to monitor them incessantly, but it also makes sense from the standpoint of a world economy. Actual currency will become intangible and you'll have an electronic account associated with whichever RFID chip is attached to you.

The problem with RFID at this point is that it doesn't encode very much information. A global unique identifier (like a UPC barcode) would be able to identify a person but this information would likely need to be kept secure, like a social security number for example. Of course, we've all seen how the internet has absolutely destroyed personal security anyway, so what's the real harm in going this route?

You think think of this as some horrible thing that is going to basically tag us all so that we are never off the grid. But actually turning it into the stuff of a post-orwellian world is going to take a very long time.

This post started out organized but then I started doing something that i'm no longer supposed to mention on ATS, and look what happened. Many apologies, it is especially embarassing because I have been working with a software company that develops RFID software. Nice work!

So just leave your driver's license in your car. It's a driver's license, right? Do you carry your automobile insurance and registration around in your wallet?

[edit on 2/28/2009 by concerned190]

Originally posted by RussianScientists
Its worse than you think Michaeljp86 another ATS member shows how to read Drivers License ID chips from cars passing his car for $200; and he can get all kinds of information about you from the chips.

Again, the information coded on RFID chips is not very much information at all, we're talking enough to store some kind of a unique identifier code. That's all. So while that may be good information to have, it's not like you can scan a chip from someone's drivers license and get information about what they do for a living and how much money they make. There is nothing even remotely set up like that because the technology is nowhere near it.

Originally posted by RussianScientists
Furthermore the government satellites are far more advanced that this ATS $200 set up for reading chips, their satellites can track you anyplace you go from space. So... you are not alone in the world, once you are chipped. They can tell exactly how long you were at some particular place, how fast you are moving and everything else.

Again, this isn't Enemy of the State with Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Current RFID technology is like this: if you have an RFID chip, it can be detected by a tower up to 100 feet away. It can read through about 6 feet of water which is pretty similar to radiation. Basically the signal wouldn't make it to the satellite.

If you look at all of the other posts here on ATS by searching for "RFID" and watching the recent news on TV you will see that RFID chips can be used for many things, and it can give all kinds of data about yourself, including when you will be gone on a trip.

The television news had a segment on RFID chips about a week ago and they stated that they and the person carrying them can be tracked by government satelites.