On June 27, 2014, at the From Now conference in Vancouver, futurist Nikolas Badminton, the event's own organizer, had an xNT chip implanted into his left hand, by me, on stage. From Now billed itself as a not-for-profit, grassroots conference about how technology is integrating into and changing our societies and culture, and Nik evidently decided the topic deserved a live demonstration with his own hand as the visual aid. Minutes after the install he was reading the fresh chip with a Nokia Lumia 1020.

Five years later, GetConnected Media sat Nik down for a retrospective: why he did it, whether he has any regrets, how an implantable RFID chip works, and whether he considers himself a cyborg or is just having fun. I like these two videos as a set. One captures the moment of installation, the other is the long-term report card, and you rarely get both on camera for the same implant.

The install at From Now (2014)

Nikolas Badminton gets his xNT on stage at From Now, then reads it with a Nokia Lumia 1020.

Five years on: GetConnected (2019)

GetConnected's 2019 retrospective with Nik on the pros and cons of living with the implant.