'Digital Angel' set
to fly tomorrow
Implant technology to be
beta tested on humans
worldnetdaily.com
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
Beginning tomorrow, Applied
Digital Solutions will begin
beta testing on humans an
implant technology capable of
allowing users to emit a homing
beacon, have vital bodily
functions monitored and confirm
identity when making e-commerce
transactions.
The first production run of
"Digital Angel®" devices has
begun, the Florida-based,
NASDAQ-traded company has
announced.
While the manufacturers of the
technology bill it as a
potential lifesaver, others
fear the advent of the device
threatens personal privacy –
and even raises the ugly
specter of the Bible's "mark of
the beast." Applied Digital
Solutions, an
e-business-to-business
solutions provider, acquired
the patent rights to the
miniature digital transceiver
it has named "Digital Angel®."
The company plans to market the
device for a number of uses,
including as a "tamper-proof
means of identification for
enhanced e-business security."
Digital Angel® sends and
receives data and can be
continuously tracked by global
positioning satellite
technology. When implanted
within a body, the device is
powered electromechanically
through the movement of muscles
and can be activated either by
the "wearer" or by a monitoring
facility.
"We believe its potential for
improving individual and
e-business security and
enhancing the quality of life
for millions of people is
virtually limitless," said ADS
Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Richard Sullivan.
"Although we're in the early
developmental phase, we expect
to come forward with
applications in many different
areas, from medical monitoring
to law enforcement. However, in
keeping with our core strengths
in the e-business to business
arena, we plan to focus our
initial development efforts on
the growing field of e-commerce
security and user ID
verification."
Dr. Peter Zhou, chief scientist
for development of the implant
and president of
DigitalAngel.net, a subsidiary
of ADS, told WorldNetDaily the
device will send a signal from
the person wearing Digital
Angel® to either his computer
or the e-merchant with whom he
is doing business in order to
verify his identity.
But e-commerce is only one
field to which Digital Angel®
applies. The device's patent
describes it as a rescue beacon
for kidnapped children and
missing persons. According to
Zhou, the implant will save
money by reducing resources
used in rescue operations for
athletes, including mountain
climbers and skiers.
Law enforcement may employ the
implant to keep track of
criminals under house arrest,
as well as reduce emergency
response time by immediately
locating individuals in
distress.
The device also has the ability
to monitor the user's heart
rate, blood pressure and other
vital functions.
"Your doctor will know the
problem before you do," said
Zhou, noting peace of mind is
possible for at-risk patients
who can rest in the knowledge
that help will be on the way
should anything go wrong.
Indeed, peace of mind is
Digital Angel®'s main selling
point.
"Ideally," the patent states,
"the device will bring peace of
mind and an increased quality
of life for those who use it,
and for their families, loved
ones, and associates who depend
on them critically."
Referring to the threat of
kidnapping, the patent goes on
to say, "Adults who are at risk
due to their economic or
political status, as well as
their children who may be at
risk of being kidnapped, will
reap new freedoms in their
everyday lives by employing the
device."
Digital Angel®'s developer told
WND demand for the implant has
been tremendous since ADS
announced its acquisition of
the patent.
"We have received requests
daily from around the world for
the product," Zhou said,
mentioning South America,
Mexico and Spain as examples.
One inquirer was the U.S.
Department of Defense through a
contractor, according to Zhou.
American soldiers may be
required to wear the implant so
their whereabouts and health
conditions can be accessed at
all times, said the scientist.
But for critics, military use
of the implant is not at the
top of their list of objections
to the new technology. ADS has
received complaints from
Christians and others who
believe the implant could be
the fulfillment of biblical
prophecy.
The Book of Revelation states
all people will be required to
"receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads:
And that no man might buy or
sell, save he that had the
mark." (Rev. 13: 16-17)
In an increasingly cashless
society where identity
verification is essential for
financial transactions, some
Christians view Digital
Angel®'s ID and e-commerce
applications as a form of the
biblical "mark of the beast."
But Zhou dismisses such
objections to the implant.
"I am a Christian, but I don't
think [that argument] makes
sense," he told WND. "The
purpose of the device is to
save your life and improve the
quality of life. There's no
connection to the Bible. There
are different interpretations
of the Bible. My interpretation
is, anything to improve the
quality of life is from God.
The Bible says, 'I am the God
of living people.' We not only
live, we live well."
Sullivan, responding to
religious objections to his
product, told WorldNetDaily no
one will be forced to wear
Digital Angel®.
"We live in a voluntary
society," he said. According to
the CEO, individuals may choose
not to take advantage of the
technology.
Zhou alluded to some
Christians' objection to
medicine per se, adding such
opposition wanes when the
life-saving, life-improving
benefits of technology are
realized.
"A few years ago there may have
been resistance, but not
anymore," he continued. "People
are getting used to having
implants. New century, new
trend."
Zhou compared Digital Angel® to
pacemakers, which regulate a
user's heart rate. Pacemakers
used to be seen as bizarre,
said Zhou, but now they are
part of everyday life. Digital
Angel® will be received the
same way, he added.
Vaccines are another good
comparison, said the scientist,
who noted, "Both save your
life. When vaccines came out,
people were against them. But
now we don't even think about
it."
Digital Angel®, Zhou believes,
could become as prevalent as a
vaccine.
"Fifty years from now this will
be very, very popular. Fifty
years ago the thought of a cell
phone, where you could walk
around talking on the phone,
was unimaginable. Now they are
everywhere," Zhou explained.
Just like the cell phone,
Digital Angel® "will be a
connection from yourself to the
electronic world. It will be
your guardian, protector. It
will bring good things to you."
"We will be a hybrid of
electronic intelligence and our
own soul," Zhou concluded.
ADS, DigitalAngel.net's parent
company, received a special
"Technology Pioneers" award
from the World Economic Forum
for its contributions to
"worldwide economic development
and social progress through
technology advancements."
The World Economic Forum,
incorporated in 1971 with
headquarters in Geneva, is an
independent, not-for-profit
organization "committed to
improving the state of the
world."
When delivery and beta testing
begin tomorrow, it will enlist
the support of a limited number
of pre-registered subscribers
and end users and last for a
period of 90 days. |
