I agree that it’s not an enormous revolution. The beauty is not in transforming our lives. It’s in subtlety and seamlessly allowing us to make more sense of more information.
Twenty years ago, I waited for the weather report on the morning news to know what to wear to work. Ten years ago, I checked a website before heading out. Today, I glance at my smartphone. Tomorrow, my mirror will tell me that I should put on a heavier coat, consider stepping it up a bit because I have a bit because I have a big meeting that day and my contact tends to dress formally in her social media pics, remind me I wore that necklace last week, and recommend I wear flats because I just missed the bus and should walk the subway.
How has the worked for the internet of smartphones?
Maybe if people administered their stuff right, but the password for 90% of the refrigerators out there will be “password.”
I’ve read somewhere that some smart refrigerators have already been taken over as spambots.
Plus, if your refrigerator can take voice commands (which will be coming) someone can hack into it, turn on the microphone, and listen in.
Ditto for smart picture frames. The walls will truly have ears.
Some dorm at MIT had the washers and driers hooked up so that you got mail when your load was done, and you could look to see if there were free ones from your room.
I would think that the smart air conditioner and smart windows would be slave devices, the thermostat the master/controller. The air conditioner and windows only need to be “smart” amongst themselves. (Best practices/way to operate). This is kind of basic stuff.
Well, if we’re gonna get paranoid and all, this is what needs the " Internet of Things" in order to become fully operational and achieve self-awareness. I kid you not…
See “Naught for Hire” by John Stith in Analog. He has a bunch of other stories about this character and world, and someone was going to make a series but it fell through.
AI in appliances - probably the most accurate view of the future out there.
The Internet of Things is also good for things that need their condition monitored, especially if humans are not that great at it.
A few years back part of a major bridge in Milwaukee had a “partial collapse” a span of roadway dropped a few feet. The bridge had been inspected within the past month, but clearly something was missed. Now, build a few hundred cheap sensors into the structure to measure movement, stress, etc. (I’m not an structural engineer, so I don’t know precisely what else), and you have a bridge that reports it’s health constantly.
