The Internet of Things is a complex topic and after a fair amount of research and thinking I’m still not sure I know enough to talk about it. \u00a0I am a fan of gadgets and interconnected things, I was really excited for the Chromecast and enjoyed using it immensely for those first few weeks. \u00a0I watch a fair amount of youtube videos, anime, and streaming tv shows and instead of buying a costly “smart tv” I could purchase a $30 dongle that works with any HDMI port. \u00a0For some shows that weren’t available for streaming I would have to hook up a laptop to the tv and try to balance it somewhere nearby, and the Chromecast offered an alternative. \u00a0Until I realized that interference from other networks and the hidden position of the dongle itself were giving me painfully slow streaming speeds it was a magnificent gadget.<\/p>\n
The adaptable and portable connector is one of the parts of the “Internet of things” that I look forward to. \u00a0When you start to embed connectivity into things, and black box their settings and interface from the consumer I start to question the value or intent behind it. \u00a0Not only do you run into compatibility issues with different companies defining their own standards, but the designed automation can lead to negative consequences for the consumer. \u00a0In Sara Watsons thought experiment on the Internet of Paternalistic things, the device network seeds doubt in the woman’s mind, and restricts her agency in her own life based on what could be faulty information. \u00a0Computers, especially when networked, are prone to minor malfunctions or miscommunication. \u00a0When we give this technology control over parts of our lives we suffer real consequences instead of having to refresh a webpage or reboot.<\/p>\n
Even if that was the only risk involved in the technology behind the “Internet of Things” it would cause me concern. \u00a0The secondary issue to me is the physical devices themselves. \u00a0In the current western model, multiple devices are pushing for dominance. \u00a0A consumer looking to “live the dream” marketed to them would have to buy a variety of products to fill their automated houses. \u00a0Companies could enforce brand loyalty by only allowing their products to work with select partners or their own products. \u00a0On the hardware side, battery and wireless network infrastructure are not capable of fully handling the increased load of multiple devices. \u00a0Frequency interference and constant recharging would slow down processes that would be instantaneous if they didn’t require a network connection. \u00a0An example of this can be seen in EA game’s launch of Sim City, where they required users to connect to their online servers to play a single player game that has no need for a network. \u00a0On launch day, a large portion of their customers were not able to play the game because their servers couldn’t handle the load.<\/p>\n
Privacy is another issue with the “Internet of Things” and even in its formative years these technologies are pushing towards redefining personal property and marketing tactics through collecting personal information. \u00a0LG and Samsung have recently been noticed for some major privacy concerns with their smart tvs. \u00a0These smart tv’s often are designed to consistently send usage statistics to their home companies or 3rd parties for targeted advertisement. \u00a0In 2013, it was found that some would send the file and folder names of shared folders on the home network and on connected usb drives. \u00a0If it wasn’t strange enough that they would gather all the personal files connected to them, they sent them to their companies in unencrypted plaintext. \u00a0More recent devices would include a microphone for voice commands, but it was not always clear when it was listening. \u00a0And in order for the voice to be converted to text, the recordings are sent to a third party company, often with poor encryption or with little to no notification from the tv company. \u00a0These devices even cause problems for people aware of their security issues, as these tracking services are touted as “opt in”, but refusing to accept them disables most if not all of the smart content. \u00a0So these companies are selling products to consumers, but disabling features if the consumer does not agree to their ever-changing contracts.<\/p>\n
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Now I have many concerns with these devices, but I do see their value. \u00a0People enjoy things that simply work, or that remember and process information for them. \u00a0The use of RFID tags in Disney World is what I think a positive example of this technology working. \u00a0Constant tracking and data-mining are not a concern to me in that context because of the space and intent they are contained in. \u00a0For a vacation destination having peace of mind is a great goal, and in order to be tracked you need to be on the premises of the park. \u00a0Amusement parks are a great controlled environment, and with so many people coming and going, the tracking technology allows the staff to provide personalized services and experiences without placing enormous strain on employees. \u00a0And RFID as a means of locative tracking is great, since it has a limited range. \u00a0Unlike internet and gps tracking it is more of an “on or off” with each sensor you approach. It serves more as a means of announcing you are entering an area than a means of surveillance.<\/p>\n
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My ideal for the “Internet of things” would require many changes in our society. \u00a0Tech literacy, so people could have agency in what their devices do or to create their own. \u00a0Privacy reform, so privacy is not treated as a sign of something to hide but as a right to control your own life. \u00a0Infrastructure improvement, so that the electricity and network throughput to use these devices is available, and so their cost may be brought down to affordable ranges for the majority of the population. \u00a0My belief is that these changes will\u00a0probably not occur before the technology reaches consumer markets, so it will probably be trail by fire for the “Internet of Things.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Internet of Things is a complex topic and after a fair amount of research and thinking I’m still not sure I know enough to talk about it. \u00a0I am a fan of gadgets and interconnected things, I was really excited for the Chromecast and enjoyed using it immensely for those first few weeks. \u00a0I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[34],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1100,"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090\/revisions\/1100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.courses.tegabrain.com\/SS15\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}