Whitehall Resident & Montana Science Center Staffer, Becomes Cyborg

On Thursday, July 28, 2022, Whitehall resident Tim Schober became a cyborg. Well, not fully cyborg, but he did volunteer to have an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) chip implanted into his hand, making him, in fact, part machine.

Schober, who is the Montana Science Center’s (MSC) Director of Technology, was gifted the RFID and spoke on Transhumanism to a group at the MSC “After Dark” series following the implantation of the chip into his hand. The Montana Science Center (MSC), located in Bozeman, provides high-quality science experiences and programming for the students and families of southwest Montana

Transhumanism, Schober explained, is the discussion of what the future of humanity is as technology progresses, as well as the boundary between humans and machines as that line continues to blur. Schober, in order to promote awareness of the ethical questions that need to be asked, decided implanting himself with the RFID chip was the best way to get the conversations started.

“With transhumanism, it asks questions relevant to things that will become in the future - we are preparing ourselves for when that technology becomes reality.”

Currently, the RFID is programmed to say “Hello, I live in Tim’s hand” through his phone; all programming is done via the phone. In the future it could be programmed to make contactless payments, and open his car or hotel room door. Schober said that further down the line RFIDs may be used to hold medical alerts that could be scanned in case of an emergency.

Schober explained that the RFID technology and chipping are much more popular in Northern Europe, which has already incorporated the technology into their infrastructure - including using the RFID as identification.

In Australia, RFID chips are commonly implanted into bovines to track herds, though Australia is against human implantation.

The RFID, which is smaller than a grain of rice and is encased in medical-grade glass, is not FDA approved, so the implantation was done by body modification specialist Kimri Rosales, who owns Element Tattoo in Bozeman. Schober’s implant is veterinary grade.

“I hope one day this becomes FDA approved,” Schober said. “I’m paying to have it done, I’ve consented, why should it not be something handled by medical specialists?”

Schober had also planned to have a glass-encased magnet implanted into the tip of his finger. However, after discussion with his magician and mentor friend Anastasia Synn, she recommended against it, due to the possibility of breakage under the skin and other health concerns. . The magnet would have given him a sixth sense, allowing him to feel magnetic fields from other magnets and electronic devices, and also would have aided in his magician skills. Synn (www.synnister.com) is a master of cyborg technology, with several implants, including a magnet in her finger, one in her wrist, a bio-temperature chip in her arm, and an NFC chip in her hand. She also has a small computer implanted in her thigh.

Schober said that in 100 to 150 years, this technology will be obsolete, as technology is always changing, but for now, he’s excited to see what he can do with it and the discussions it opens. During his interview, we spoke about a multitude of topics a chip like this brings: everything from COVID vaccine chip conspiracies to the legalities of a search warrant for items implanted in the skin.

“I’m hoping this breeches discussion beyond what we are fighting for now and others see how AI will affect us in the future.”