If you’ve been on the internet anytime recently (I’m assuming you have) you may have heard about “The Internet Of Things” and how it just might be the most exciting thing happening in the world of technology. If not, strap in… we’re about to enter the future, baby.
The Google definition of the IoT is: the ever-growing network of physical objects that feature an IP address for internet connectivity, and the communication that occurs between these objects and other Internet-enabled devices and systems. Basically everything becoming part of the internet, even objects like your fridge and car.
The possibilities are endless. Whatever you are imagining about it right now… times that by 10 and you’ve still not come close to the potential of the IoT. I’ve read up on it quite a bit and I still get shocked when I find out a new advancement in the technology.
I normally like to get the personal opinion of someone I know on these things before I write about them, so I decided to ask Tech Guru, my Mum (I’m being sarcastic by the way, she has recently discovered emoticons and seems pretty content with that at the moment) what she thought about it.
This is how the conversation went down.
Mum: “For God’s sake, we’re out of milk again. I could have got some at the shops before if I had known.”
Me: “Soon, with the help of The Internet of Things, the fridge would have been able to tell you as soon as we were out of milk.”
Mum: *Stares for a long time* “The what would be able to do what?”
Me: “Internet of things. Everything will be connected up. The fridge would tell you we’re out of milk.”
Mum: *Stares even longer* “What? What have you been smoking, Tom?”
So I (tried my best to) explained to her what the IoT actually is and how it would work and all the potential it has. She laughed, “Sounds cool but a bit farfetched.” And she’s right it is cool and it does sound farfetched. But it’s not. It’s happening right now and it won’t be long before it’s just a part of normal life.
Do you ever hear people say, “What was life like before mobile phones/internet? How did we manage?” It’s going to be exactly like that.
For instance, it will be useful in preventing all kinds of mishaps, disasters and maybe even deaths. It has the power prevent car crashes, tell your doctor you’re having a heart attack…Etc Anything you’re thinking of it most likely has the potential to do. Yes, save lives! Awesome right?
But I can’t help be a bit of a negative nelly and think of the potential bad consequences it could possibly have. A funny looking fella in a red and blue suit hanging upside down off a spider web once told me that his Uncle Ben said to him: “With great power comes great responsibility.” And he was right.
Now the realist inside me can’t help but notice that some people are bad people, and these bad people would work out a way to use the IoT for… well … something bad. And maybe even on a huge scale. I haven’t got my tinfoil hat on right now so I can’t exactly tell you what, but you know it makes sense. I’m thinking wars, spies, James Bond villain type stuff, you know?
Not to mention what will happen if such a large amount of data is spewed together: These confidential bits of data can be used to affect our insurance rates, for stealing money from our bank accounts. Yikes.
Ok, enough of the scary stuff now. Do the positives outweigh the (potential) negatives? Yes they do. People are going to do these bad things anyway but the IoT has the potential to greatly benefit us in so many ways, especially businesses
What are your opinions on it? Are you a technophobe or a technobro? Let us know @StrategySMedia