Page 4 - Green Builder magazine January 2015 Issue
P. 4
EDITOR’S NOTE By Matt Power, Editor-in-Chief
The Inside Scoop
2
Dear IoT: Please Respect My Boundaries
We’ve failed miserably in creating boundaries for mobile phones. Let’s
Wmake sure the Internet of Things stays in the background, where it belongs.
E’VE ALL BEEN A survey we just com-
there. You’re pleted shows that most
having lunch of our readers have
with a friend never heard of the IoT.
and he’s sud- No surprise there. It’s an
denly gone bye- abstract term, referring
bye, texting some distant acquaintance to the way wireless tech-
with a tap-tap-tap on his ever-handy nology, digital communi-
smartphone. Maybe (be honest) you’ve cation and data harvest-
been the texter. Then there’s the apol- ing (and analysis) now
ogy, and the false promise of choice: “speak” to each other.
“I’m sorry; do you mind if I take this?” Transportation, enter-
Somehow, the etiquette of mobile tainment and building
phone use got left behind. Now, we’re science will soon become
www.greenbuildermedia.com 01.2015
on the verge of immersing ourselves one seamless entity.
CREDIT: ED YOURDON
in a new, pervasive technology called The potential ben-
The Internet of Things, or IoT, and we e ts for resource con-
must pay attention to how it’s rolled servation are huge. Op-
out, or else become mere servants of timized appliances, for
e ciency and order. example, can use power only during o -peak periods. Solar
vehicles can feed extra energy back into the grid. Thermostats
Modern Insult? can learn and adjust to save energy based on owner behavior.
As we’ve learned, a In theory, all of these things can happen in the background.
lack of mindfulness
in how we embrace But as the IoT grows, bureaucrats, police and politicians
new technology can will want to join the party. And that’s where I get nervous.
have unpleasant Visiting the UK last month, I got a taste of how fearful people
consequences. can abuse interconnected gadgets. The country is a veritable
sh bowl of video surveillance. Walk into a hotel, and a photo
of you in the parking lot pops up on a monitor. Dash down
some country road and get a speeding ticket mailed to your
home. You are constantly watched and recorded. It’s nerve-
wracking.
Now imagine a utility shutting down your heating
system for an overdue bill, or a car that won’t start because
a parking ticket hasn’t been paid, or a credit card company
that automatically deducts a ne from your 401(k) for a
missed payment. Maybe it’s just me, but that feels like the
end of personal liberty.
Don’t get me wrong. The IoT, created and used with strict
boundaries, can make life better, save lives and reinforce
resilient communities. Let’s just make sure we create the
rules, rather than leaving them to chance—the way we did
our mobile phone addiction. MP
The Inside Scoop
2
Dear IoT: Please Respect My Boundaries
We’ve failed miserably in creating boundaries for mobile phones. Let’s
Wmake sure the Internet of Things stays in the background, where it belongs.
E’VE ALL BEEN A survey we just com-
there. You’re pleted shows that most
having lunch of our readers have
with a friend never heard of the IoT.
and he’s sud- No surprise there. It’s an
denly gone bye- abstract term, referring
bye, texting some distant acquaintance to the way wireless tech-
with a tap-tap-tap on his ever-handy nology, digital communi-
smartphone. Maybe (be honest) you’ve cation and data harvest-
been the texter. Then there’s the apol- ing (and analysis) now
ogy, and the false promise of choice: “speak” to each other.
“I’m sorry; do you mind if I take this?” Transportation, enter-
Somehow, the etiquette of mobile tainment and building
phone use got left behind. Now, we’re science will soon become
www.greenbuildermedia.com 01.2015
on the verge of immersing ourselves one seamless entity.
CREDIT: ED YOURDON
in a new, pervasive technology called The potential ben-
The Internet of Things, or IoT, and we e ts for resource con-
must pay attention to how it’s rolled servation are huge. Op-
out, or else become mere servants of timized appliances, for
e ciency and order. example, can use power only during o -peak periods. Solar
vehicles can feed extra energy back into the grid. Thermostats
Modern Insult? can learn and adjust to save energy based on owner behavior.
As we’ve learned, a In theory, all of these things can happen in the background.
lack of mindfulness
in how we embrace But as the IoT grows, bureaucrats, police and politicians
new technology can will want to join the party. And that’s where I get nervous.
have unpleasant Visiting the UK last month, I got a taste of how fearful people
consequences. can abuse interconnected gadgets. The country is a veritable
sh bowl of video surveillance. Walk into a hotel, and a photo
of you in the parking lot pops up on a monitor. Dash down
some country road and get a speeding ticket mailed to your
home. You are constantly watched and recorded. It’s nerve-
wracking.
Now imagine a utility shutting down your heating
system for an overdue bill, or a car that won’t start because
a parking ticket hasn’t been paid, or a credit card company
that automatically deducts a ne from your 401(k) for a
missed payment. Maybe it’s just me, but that feels like the
end of personal liberty.
Don’t get me wrong. The IoT, created and used with strict
boundaries, can make life better, save lives and reinforce
resilient communities. Let’s just make sure we create the
rules, rather than leaving them to chance—the way we did
our mobile phone addiction. MP
