No doubt, with the Internet of Things we will slip into a new age. It’s a world, where Sensors are collecting mass of data in order to deliver services that assist or take care of us.
Today we are aware of the space around as. Within more than a trillion web connected sensors space will be aware of us.
It will be comfortable world. Living in that world become more easy. The sensor collected data is used to assist you with incredible services: Health monitoring, Saving energy, save a free parking space in the city or even to find a matching couple in the area where you live.
You don’t have to press on the Cafe Latte Button on Coffee Machine – your location assistant know what you want and where to serve.
You don’t need to take care about an unlocked door. Your smart home knows when you enter or leave the house.
You don’t have to care about your child while it sleeps. The smart home will turn the light to a child comfort mode and will alert you if the sleeping profile is turning critical.
It’s a perfect world
You will be assisted. And your digital assistants will take care of you. Even better: the software service knows you and knows your behaviors. Always best services levels will only be reached if you are predictable. This services architecture needs to be feeded with sensor data.
Turn to he dark side of this bright new world and you will discover the costs of that fully assisted future living.
In the total awareness space, privacy is gone. Everything will be monitored by sensors: Your steps, your heartbeat, your mood, what are you talking, your food, the air you breath in and the air you breath out… everything.
- It’s post privacy. In a world of trillion sensors terabytes of your data will be collected on each second.
- It’s post security. Trillions of connected devices in the internet of things can’t be keeped up to date with firmware. Leaks of data and hacked sensors will be the daily business to deal with.
- It’s post autonomy. Drop your mobile phone or wearable devices and you feel lost. No more location service to guide you. No more connection to your social net.
Why an Intranet of Things is so important
There is no escape from location awareness assistant living. The Internet of Things is coming. Fast. Disruptive.
The only chance to save a piece of self confidence are personal controlled digital spaces.
A digital space by your own choice and under your control:
Your body – when you can control the data stream of all our wearable devices. Or your sleeping room, house, neighborhood…
But it’s called €žthe INTERNET of things€œ. Looking at today’s trend the Internet of Things shifts into a big business of giant corporations. They will offer you great service but the price to pay is your data.
Proprietary hardware and software stacks or the bondage on corporate cloud services are used to lock you to total post privacy.
I see two ways to save a piece of autonomy:
- Turn your life and your social network to the Amish way
Create spaces where Internet Connected Devices or Sensors are completely banned. This can be your body, your home or your neighbor hood. Larger spaces are more autonomous but more difficult to handle. You need a strong common ideology to keep the location free of internet connected devices. That’s why I call that the Amish way.
- Support Open Source Hardware and Open Source Software.
It’s the only choice if you want to keep control on which data will be collected, where it will send and who proceed it. Open source will give you the opportunity to hack your device and shield them on your own network.
It’s your choice.
Live in the full assisted nanny space of post privacy, go the Amish way or support Open Source to build an INTRANET of Things.
