The Internet of Things is kind of dumb

Tyler’s post last week about the Internet of Things seemed pretty optimistic. This is the opposite of that.

There are positives and negatives to establishing an IoT network. It’s certainly possible to derive some benefit from such a system. Aside from increased quality of life through conveniences, such as having my refrigerator automatically update my shopping list, the Internet of Things could reduce costs through optimization, better organize utilities management, monitor our health, or even the health of our infrastructure. However, an Internet of Things, in which every device is interconnected, is not necessary to achieve these benefits, and carries with it a whole host of problems.

The idea of the Internet of Things makes many devices needlessly complicated. When applied to specific devices, the concept of interconnectivity is fantastic, but the IoT as popularly envisioned is nothing more than a novelty. The Internet has had a tremendous impact on the world, so now people think the Internet is the solution to everything and want to integrate an Internet-like network into their products. At best, it’s just another attempt by companies to add unnecessary features to their products to increase their profits, but even if the intentions behind the IoT are positive, the effects are still negative.

As noted in the final paragraph of Tyler’s post, security issues are a huge concern. One attractive feature of the IoT is the ability to aggregate data. Sensors integrated into clothing and wearable devices could constantly monitor health to provide feedback, based on user configurations, that might lead to healthier lifestyles. Such devices could even be used to help doctors to monitor patients’ recovery even after they leave the hospital, for example. However, such a great deal of biometric data could also be of user for nefarious health insurance purposes by using the data to increase users’ rates.

Even assuming the IoT is standardized in some way, having so many individual devices connected to it would be chaotic. As standards change, problems are fixed, and technology progresses, existing devices would quickly become outdated. Even if there was a way to update them, they would have to constantly be supported, yet companies have little financial incentive to support outdated devices that have already been purchased – getting consumers to purchase new devices is a much more attractive alternative.

The most useful and obvious purpose for these massive data banks is advertising. Advertising is a huge source of income for Internet-based companies, and there is every reason to believe this trend will continue with the IoT. Not only will companies be able to charge consumer more for “smart” devices, but they will even benefit from them. Apart from built-in advertising, the user data generated and aggregated by these devices would be beneficial to the manufacturers directly, as well as open up the possibility for selling it to other companies.

The IoT is an interesting concept, but not all devices need to be “smart.” There is possibly a version of a future IoT that is beneficial, but as it is commonly envisioned now it is just a novelty. It sounds just as dumb now as it did in 1999: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/276870.stm

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/01/smart-tvs-smart-fridges-smart-washing-machines-disaster-waiting-to-happen/