Prendendo spunto da un report appena pubblicato dall’istituto americano di ricerche Pew (vedi link in fondo all’articolo), il Guardian riepiloga in un articolo online i benefici e i possibili rischi dell’Internet delle cose.
Questi i punti salienti dell’articolo:
1. A new definition for the Internet of Things
“A global, immersive, invisible, ambient networked computing environment built through the continued proliferation of smart sensors, cameras, software, databases, and massive data centers in a world-spanning information fabric known as the Internet of Things.”
2. It’s about devices all working together
“We will talk to devices in essentially the same way we talk to other people. Yes, you will be permanently connected to the network via wearable devices.”
3. Get set to quantify yourself even more
“Every part of our life will be quantifiable, and eternal, and we will answer to the community for our decisions.”
4. There are plenty of IoT sceptics
“The scarce resource will continue to be human attention. There is a limit to the usefulness of devices that are worn in public but that demand attention because it is often socially and practically unacceptable to give those devices enough attention to make them worth the trouble of configuring and interacting with.”
5. Privacy is a big concern
By 2025, we will have long ago given up our privacy. The Internet of Things will demand – and we will give willingly – our souls,” said college professor Peter Jacoby.
6. But the Internet of Things could protect our privacy too
“…we might wear devices that signal an unwillingness to be followed, or to have promotional messages pushed at us without our consent. Likewise, a store might recognize us as an existing customer with an established and understood relationship.”
7. Interfaces will be about more than kung fu fighting
“Glass and watch interfaces are a start at this combination of strokes, acceleration, voice, and even shaking and touching device-to-device. The key will be separating random human actions from intentional ones, then translating those into machine commands—search, call, direct, etc.”
8. Health tech will be a big beneficiary
“Health apps will be the most significant change. Things such as the Fitbit will evolve to allow passive monitoring of blood sugar, caloric intake, etc.
Household objects online will have ways of being part of a broadcast network that can allow owners to be informed in case of recalls, problems, etc”
9. All this stuff may break. Often.
“We will live in a world where many things won’t work, and nobody will know how to fix them.”
10. Don’t forget about the people whose Things aren’t connected
“The Internet of Things will add to the comfort of people living in developed countries by 2025. It will also have a measurable impact in utilities markets like energy and water. Unfortunately, it might not help people in developing countries with developmental issues, mainly because of the tendency in many developing countries to focus on the short term and not on the long term,” said Miguel Alcaine, International Telecommunication Union area representative for Central America.