Wouter Serdijn: “Martijn Aslander is simply too late”

Chipping a puppy

Yesterday I received a phone call from the Dutch NOS, the largest news organization in the Netherlands with the question whether the news about Martijn Aslander, “professional lifehacker”, who had an RFIC chip implanted in his hand, should be considered important from a news perspective. The answer is “No”. The implanted chip is hardly any more intelligent than those that cats, dogs and cattle are wearing already for many years and since the chip has no means of interaction with its owner, it is nothing more than an implanted passport or any other form of identification.

Aslander may perhaps be the first person in the Netherlands (if you do not count dogs, cats and cattle), but his heroism fades in the shadow of the true pioneer of cyborgs, Sir Kevin Warwick. See, e.g., http://www.kevinwarwick.com/. In the Netherlands and Belgium, true heroes are Eddy van der Velden and Dirk de Ridder (www.braininnovations.nl), who voluntarily had stimulation electrodes implanted to test alternative neurostimulation strategies and thereby contribute to finding better treatments for tinnitus and addiction. It is truly an honor and privilege to collaborate with them.