I thought the Internet of Things (IoT) was pretty amazing before I read most of the readings for this week. As usual, there’s a ton of info I didn’t know/hadn’t even thought about. Here are a few of my thoughts:

The Epic Struggle of the Internet of Things:

‘They like the slogan Internet of Things because it sounds peaceable and progressive. It disguises the epic struggle over power, money and influence that is about to ensue.’

• Again, didn’t really think of all the other considerations like power, money, etc. The IoT marketing does a really good job of emphasizing the cool factor, which makes sense…

‘The reader may be allowed to choose the casing of his smartphone and the brand of his vacuum cleaner, but the digital relation between the two of them is not his decision. He still has a role of sorts, but it’s much like the role he has within Google and Facebook. He gets fantastic services free of charge, and he responds mostly with dropdown menus and checkboxes, while generating data whose uses and values are invisible to him.’

• I like this because it really exposes what little freedom the IoT imposes. I had always thought about IoT as pretty liberating since I’m interested in personal data, but trying to obtain the data and understanding the full breadth of it is way too hard in my opinion.

‘It’s clear that today’s Internet of Things isn’t just a techno-revolution; it’s a reaction. It’s not by and for the oppressed, the disruptive, the hungry, the have-nots, the start-ups, the shut-outs. The Internet of Things is very much in the interests of certain groups who can already count themselves among the haves. Many of its architects are clearly inspired by fear – they’re powerful, but afraid to lose the things they already command and control. By intensifying their command and control systems, they hope to maintain their hold. ’

• The IoT will emphasize the digital divide even more. Only the most priveleged will have a superficial access to the internet through their things. The idea of power is interesting. Although it seems like the user has more power through this connected device, he/she is instead just making him/herself more vulnerable via data. It’s even a false power as there is no decision about the digital relation as explained above.

‘That’s a good idea of what an Internet of Things looks like and feels like. It’s not a novelty fridge that talks, it’s a state of daily affairs that is truly strange and different. It needs to be justly compared to our actual, existent state of affairs. One can’t complain about the vistas of the Internet of Things without comparing it to what we have today, in broad daylight.’

‘It’s not the newness of the Internet of Things that is bad. Its good and bad aspects are ethical, legal, social, political. They’re human.’

• Bringing everything back down to earth…

‘The IoT isn’t a social reform movement, or a source of progress, any more than Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft are reformers seeking progress. It’s better in some ways, worse in others; mostly, it’s just different. The clues to that future culture are already here.’

‘Life in the Internet of Things isn’t about buying a smart toaster and keeping it. No: it’s a silent, semi-covert, digitally interactive struggle of baby-knifing and oxygen-stealing.’

• Yikes…

‘The Internet of Things does grant forms of cultural fame and influence, even lavishly, but only when those are channelled and expressed through itself, on its own terms.’

• Again, a comment on this false illusion of power to the user through IoT.

‘But everything about the Internet of Things that actually works, that functions in real life, is already obsolete. It will leave few visible monuments. If you hold your breath and close your eyes, you can almost see the last of it from here.’

• Still having trouble comprehending this.

Cisco’s infographic: I didn’t realize the extent of the IoT until seeing this. The whole alarm clock thing is pretty awesome, but even if I had something like it, I don’t know that I would trust it. I’m having a hard time articulating why…I feel like there would always be some human factor that would be missed in terms of judgement.

‘I’m Terrified of My New TV’: I thought the title was pretty hilarious, and then I read on. I think I may be afraid to turn on my TV too, although the collection of all that data (for my own use) does excite me. Maybe if I was confident that it wasn’t too hackable or I could monitor/transfer the data on the TV on my own very easily I would feel more secure. Doesn’t seem like that’s happening any time soon though…

Check out the readings for this week:
The Epic Struggle of the Internet of Things: Bruce Sterling
Cisco’s Internet of Things
I’m Terrified of My New TV: Michael Price
Driverless Cars are Further Away than You Think: Will Knight
The Internet of Things Intrigues the Intelligence Community: Patience Wait