Egad, no! Why would anyone consider such a thing? I can think of no instance in which a device like this would be in any way useful to me or to the vast majority of Americans. I can, however, think of a thousand different ways it could be used for nefarious purposes by private parties or corporations or the government.
There is an alternative. All you young folks could just swallow your smart phones ;).
I’m just saying that it isn’t foolproof method for protecting against kidnapping. If it sees commonplace adoption, kidnappers would try and counter it, and doing so wouldn’t be particularly difficult, especially at the margin. You could just wrap the ‘kid’ in metal foil.
And keep him wrapped up in foil indefinitely? Without him tearing it accidentally or on purpose? I think this is harder than you are making it out to be. And I think you overestimate the competence of the typical kidnapper.
Remember those old cartoons where the kidnapper threw a huge bag over the victim’s head and carried them off? Just lining the bag with copper mesh fabric would work.
The swallow your cell phone idea is plenty ingenious though. What if the units were disposable? You could swallow one any morning if you were heading out hiking, or feed one to the child if you were going to a concert or someplace threatening.
You could have the A-Team build you a van lined with a copper cage like the inside of a giant microwave oven, toss the kid in, spirit the kid away, then roll them up in a foil blanket and on into a more permanent installation in an underground bunker, and…
aww, hell, this guy, I’m sure would have some tips.
Hell Yes - except for the cost - I’m a cheapskate…
I never committed any crime ar likely to and dont go anywere I would be ashamed of - they can track me all they want - I’ve nothing to hide. Civil Rights and Human Rights to me are only ever used by those who have stuff to hide - look at terrorists - ‘I dont want to be deported to the US its against my Human Rights’ or some such bull.
Pretty much how I feel, too (not necessarily about civil/human rights for privacy thing—I think those are very important actually—just that, I’ve nothing to hide really).
Anyhow, we can set you up on a payment plan…
I’d be less worried about a totalitarian government taking over the US than I would be about hackers finding out how to break into this, and then sell the info about where I am/was to any & all advertisers, solicitors, & spammers.
I just think that’s a whole lot more likely.
In the highly unlikely event of a security breach, all units would enter a purgatory mode, until you reset all passcodes and re-register your device with the agency.
As to what sort of state-of-the-art tech in encryption and multi-tiered safety protocols with the registry itself that could be employed… someone other than I, with this sort of esoteric knowledge might be able to propose a next-to-impossible system to hack, I’m sure.
Once the security breach is uncovered, you mean.
And that seems like the more “highly unlikely” event. How often have we heard about security breaches that went on for a long time, and got away with thousands of credit card numbers, account balances, etc. before they were discovered. And that’s just the ones we hear about. From experiences working in DP, I know there are cases where the company does not even publicly report the breach, but just decides to cover any reported losses rather than endure the bad publicity.
How many times have we heard that said about the latest-and-greatest security system, only to hear later that it was compromised.
Are there any examples of such systems?
Heck, the CIA was able to get into most of the Soviet secrets (and meanwhile, the Soviet KGB was getting into most of the CIA’s secrets). If the top-xecret agencies of the 2 biggest governments during the cold wqr weren’t able to keep their secrets, what makes you think this system could?
P.S. A surgical implant “deep within your abdominal cavity” that can be done for $1000? You haven’t paid a hospital bill lately. You couldn’t even get the anesthesiologist to numb you for the surgery for that price.
I’m sure they could skip that part if you’re on a budget. 
Given how far we’ve come in hacking the nervous system: http://www.kutv.com/news/features/national/stories/vid_1240.shtml
I’d be afraid that they’d do more than find me!
I see no reason to go out of the way to make life easy for hypothetical totalitarian governments.
In retrospect, my use of the word “totalitarian” narrowed the scope. Clearly a device of this sort would be useful for totalitarian governments such as the Nazis and Soviets to track down and kill their enemies. It would also be useful for the police in situations such as the Civil Rights movement of the 50’s in the South, when the police wanted to keep tabs on and harass the protestors. In such a situation, the police may not have totalitarian powers to force everyone to get implants, but if some of the protestors voluntarily have implants it works in favor of the police.
All points taken and totally understood.
But, the only information any criminals would be able to uncover is where you are, and what your BP, heart rate, blood sugar, oxygen levels, and maybe a few other enzyme levels are. Most people know where you are anyway, and there’s much easier ways to find out, if you just wanted to mug someone.
That’s not really information that can be exploited unless you were in hiding or on the lam, so either you wouldn’t have the implant anyhow, or you’d use your killphrase.
I can think of, perhaps a few ways that entities can spam that information, but as I said, once a breach is discovered, full-board shutdown and reset.
As for the cost, well… it’s a routine, minor procedure, that doesn’t involve general anesthesia and is also subsidized by a 10 year contract for the surveillance/infrastructure at $4.99/mo. or some shit. You also get a free Pop-Tart (your choice of flavor) upon leaving the clinic.
Missed the edit window: Cholesterol and adrenaline levels too. That’s convenient!
The cost can also be offset/subsidized by your health insurance premium. No PopTart!
I can see how this could be useful in certain institutions, for instance.
Well, prison, for one.
Dementia caretakers could probably need this. Heck, I knew I’d have slept better at night back when my grandfather was alive, if I knew I could track him down when his alzheimers convinced him he was 34 again and was supposed to report at the harbor for his berth. Just make me sign a slip of paper while I’m still lucid - if I go under, I’d rather be kept on a leash than continuously terrorize my family by disappearing.
I’d do it. I don’t worry as much about government surveillance and that sort of thing. Just the medical implications alone I think would be worth it.
Yep. Me too.
Everyone used to freak out about paying for things online in the 90s, now it’s as commonplace as swiping your debit card at the store.
Does phishing or identity fraud still happen sure, but with something like this, really, what’s to exploit, and why would it be worth the hassle for criminals?
held up at gunpoint
“Your wallet and watch, now!”
“The mark of the beast is 666, bitch!”
“What?!”
police sirens
This already exists and it’s called a cell phone. (Minus the vital sign monitoring, but that’s already in the works and will be here within a few years.)
As long as I maintain complete ownership and control, I’m all for it. That’s why I have a cell phone I own, which is rooted and controlled by me, unlike an iphone or unrooted android for instance. Someone else is always trying to exert control, however, so we have to be constantly vigilant and proactive.