The Future Is Here: Tech Festival Uses Implanted Microchips As Tickets Inserting microchips to humans may sound like a plot straight out of a sci-fi television series like Black Mirror, but that reality is now here.

By Pamella de Leon

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Pause Fest

Inserting microchips to humans may sound like a plot straight out of a sci-fi television series like Black Mirror, but that reality is now here. As part of its next year's festival, 10 VIP attendees of Pause Fest, a Melbourne-based tech and business conference, volunteered to have Near Field Communication (NFC) chips implanted to their hands.

Today's commercially available chips can only hold limited information and is still in early-stages, but the embedded microchips contain a three-day pass to the conference, with plans for it to be programmed to unlock your phone, launch a business card, website or app on your iPhone or Android phone, unlock doors to their home, gym, or workplace, and as a public transport pass.

Source: Pause Fest

In February next year at the conference, the volunteers will join Kayla Heffernan, the insertable technology expert and Melbourne University PhD candidate behind the experiment, in a panel to discuss the ramifications of the chips' usability.

According to The Guardian, Heffernan, who has had her own microchip for almost 18 months to unlock her front door and access her office, asserts the possibilities of the application of injectable microchips: "If you could use it for everywhere, so work, home, gym and only need one chip, that kind of gives people more incentive to get one. Payments are the killer application. As soon as you can pay with it, more and more people will go ahead and get these." A model that would hold multiple access codes using one card is under development, as well as, a chip with an encryption level suited for payment systems.

It's not the first instance such technologies embedded to everyday life have been suggested for wider application: Sweden startup Epicenter offered employees the opportunity to have a microchip implanted for access to services across the building, followed by US tech company Three Square Market which offered to insert RFID chips for employees. While Tom Gruber, co-founder of Siri and Apple executive also shared his vision at a TED 2017 conference talk in Canada wherein AI can be used as memory implants to assist people to record every aspect of their lives, specifically its possibility of assisting people with diseases like dementia. Exciting or eerie? We'll let you decide.

Related: Combating Cyber Crime: Your Company Needs To Be Resilient

Pamella de Leon

Startup Section Editor, Entrepreneur Middle East

Pamella de Leon is the Startup Section Editor at Entrepreneur Middle East. She is keen on the MENA region’s entrepreneurship potential, with a specific interest to support enterprises and individuals creating an impact.

Leadership

The One Executive Position Every Startup Now Needs to Fill Today

Uber's recent hiring is a wakeup call to those idealistic enough to believe they don't need to fight City Hall.

Franchise

This Travel Franchise Turns Your Passion for Vacations Into a Money-Making Opportunity

Whether you're working from home, traveling or connecting with clients at their convenience, this franchise adapts to your lifestyle.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Lifestyle

Dubai Bling Season 3 Review: Come Back Kris Fade; All is Forgiven

Multiple personalities, handbags and egos are back for more.

Business Ideas

67 Businesses to Start for Under $10,000

Need new inspiration for a business you can start with $10,000? Here are more than 60 profitable business ideas you can run with now.

Business News

'Nobody Ever Gave Me Anything': More Boomers Say They're Not Transferring Wealth to Family Until They're Dead

A new survey from Charles Schwab found boomers are more hesitant to distribute their wealth than other generations.