If you feel like wearing a pair of glasses with an attached camera and microphone is a privacy nightmare, then you probably won't like the next anticipated breakthrough in medical technology.
Biotech companies are working on tablets equipped with sensors and wireless transmitters that can send notifications to your phone when it's time to take your next dose. They are also able to track your vital signs and body temperature, and then send the collected data to your healthcare provider.
However, these swallowed devices have other uses besides healthcare. For example, they can transmit your authorization passwords a little over a meter around your body, allowing you to open and start the car without a key, or enter your computer when you are just sitting at your desk.
Of course, tablets that can track your position in space and store your passwords are controversial. Thanks to them, your body, in fact, itself turns into a "device", transmitting outside your personal information that can be hacked, and large companies are already targeting the possibility of exploiting such technology. For example, Motorola is considering starting the use of such swallowing computers now.
The founder of the well-known Electronic Frontier Foundation, John Perry Barlow, summarized privacy considerations around ingesting computers:
“The great news is that there are many things you would like to know about yourself on a consistent basis, especially if you are diabetic or suffering from some other medical condition. The terrible news is that many other people and corporations may well have access to this information."
However, life costs more than privacy. And when it comes to life and health, many people will voluntarily agree to use such swallow minicomputers for medical reasons.
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