Hi 'E,

The one thing about these digital implants is that they are a long way away from being implanted into our generation, unless it's voluntary. However, it seems that the developers of modern technology want us to merge with the Machine, so we can become numbers, processed only by the state from a central computer.
I guess it's inevitable.

But can you imagine.....say.....not getting your tax refund in the mail? Or someone steals your identity and drains your bank account? Or someone who shares your name or facial characteristics is a real criminal and they only have access to you?
Ever tried gettting a charge removed from your credit card? Not too hard, right now. But you have to check your newer statements, because most banks will hold on to your cash and use your money for the interest it accrues, along with millions of others. I wouldn't be surprised they have an individual that "reviews" what the customer service reps have ordered, and just hit the "delete" key.......denied for some reason or another. So you have to repeat the process.

How about a company that automatically draws your monthly payment from your bank electronically?
How about erasing something from your credit report that is faulty?
How about a mistake on your phone bill that AT & T says was Sprint's problem, and you call Sprint and they say it's AT & T? How long do you spend on the phone with voice activated prompts waiting to talk to someone who's really interested in Customer Service?!

As we get more automated, we become more depersonalized. Companies often have so many electronic answers for some things, that it is frustrating to get anything fixed in a reasonable amount of time. By the time you go through all the prompts and button pushing, you can be on the phone for up to 30 minutes, put on hold and then disconnected.
I can see a world when electronics could pretty much take the words "customer" and "service" right out of the dictionary.

You remarked:"I won't even get into the subject of remote control... I'll take your use of the word "automaton" in its figurative sense: "behavior controlled by threat of punishment", such as the world of Airstrip One."

Orwellian. If you are implanted, you could be tracked or even harassed electronically. It's not a problem for our society right now, but I can see a great uprising if this type of solution was going to be made public policy.