First of all… How cool is the video that Ted showed us about the Internet of Things! Here is another clip that hows what the technological future holds for us.
I’m not a sci-fi fan but to think that all of this could be possible within our lifetime is an exciting, albeit daunting thought.
A recent blog on The Economist highlights issues with the infrastructure, privacy and the danger of a disastrous failure in an Internet of Things world. Perhaps the most pressing of concerns Schumpeter raises is that of who will end up owning and controlling the data from the Internet of Things.
We are rapidly proceeding to a point where the range of data being collected can literally be used to reconstruct a person’s life. The privacy issues brought about by the Internet of Things will make concerns about our interactions on social media giants such as Facebook seem trivial by comparison.
The Internet of Things can ultimately be used for the benefit or detriment of individuals and society as a whole. Although business will argue a whole raft of benefits that include increasing efficiency, safety and health, these need to be balanced by safeguards and controls.
I’m really interested to hear what you’re thoughts on how you think the ethics of mass connectivity will or should be developed, and the things that we must think about before we become fully reliant on a technological world.
Hey Em, nice post. It seems everyone is using that clip, it's a good explanation of IoT isn't it? You raise some very good points. It all feels very science fiction and I was surprised to find out in the lecture that object connectivity was already happening and that there is actually a lot of material on it. It seems that cyber-utopian or not, everyone has their concerns as to the potential of this technology.
ReplyDeleteThis article came out in 2009 and it talks about the ability of networks to cope with the amount of potential data that these objects could provide and possible solutions for the problem. To view, cut and paste the link below:
http://goo.gl/H4szZ
In human history, we've never been very good at asking questions like, do we really need this technology and will is be truly beneficial to society? The atomic bomb was a great scientific triumph, which had a tragic social outcome. While I know that the Internet of Things is not going to blow anyone into oblivion, it's really crucial to examine whether just because we have a technology, does this mean it needs to be utilised?
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, there is never going to be a satisfactory ethic model developed for the sheer amount of information that will be produced - and that will inevitably have a price tag. Here is an interesting article though, that puts forward an idea I hadn't thought of. It says that Europe was pushing for the right to 'deactivate' tags, so if you bought an object with an embedded RFID, you're not necessarily forced to participate in the Internet of Things.