Internet of Things: Innovation, a Ride Aboard the Hype Train, or Worse?

The Internet of Things is on its way. But, is the world ready for it? Some experts aren't so sure about that. The Internet of Things may very well usher the world through the door to social inequality and violations of basic human rights, among other atrocities.

At least, that's what a study from the Pew Research Center thinks. The Internet of Things, according to the Gartner IT Glossary, is "the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment." Basically, anything connected to the Internet (which is just about everything these days), is part of the Internet of Things.

The Washington D.C.-based research center has organized surveys for the past ten years targeting tech experts around the world for their thoughts on the Internet's future. While most previous surveys turned out generally positive, this year showed a sudden change of opinion - many professionals expressed concern over the growing integration of technology into society.

While most of these experts responded with some positive feedback concerning some of the potentially revolutionary tech advancements, such as computers that respond to voice, medical devices that monitor and treat dangerous diseases, and environmental pollution-detecting scanners, there was a lot of concern over the general security of our technological life.

Security Issues Are a Main Concern
A blog article XFER published a while ago puts this perfectly in perspective. There was some publicity about an Ohio family who witnessed first-hand the terror of a baby monitor hacking attack. It was an eye-opening event, one that revealed that anything connected to the Internet is going to deal with security issues. "Most of the devices exposed to the Internet will be vulnerable," says Jerry Michalski, founder of the think tank REX. "They will be prone to unintended consequences: they will do things nobody designed for beforehand, most of which will be undesirable."

To Those We've Left Behind
Another big problem with the Internet of Things is that some people will be lost in the technical transition. Think about it in terms of today's generation and the previous generations - children are growing up and learning about technology at the same time, while their parents might not have had access to the same technology years ago.

Another problem is that the cost of these technologies will leave a lot of potential investors behind simply because not everyone can afford them. For example, the environmental monitoring technologies previously mentioned wouldn't be affordable to the countries that need the technology the most.

All Aboard the Hype Train!
Just like how the Internet of Things might take over the universe, it also might not do anything at all. It might not even grow to be popular. Some professionals think that the only use for the Internet of Things will be niche applications - extremely useful for the right audience, such as the military, hospitals, and prisons, and not of much use to anyone else.

Think about it in terms of the smartphone. It was such a huge thing when it first became a thing, but now everyone and their seven-year-old kid has one. The Internet of Things might very well be the next big thing, only to be diminished and looked down upon by the next big thing, whatever it might be.

How will the Internet of Things pan out, and how will it change the world? Only time can tell. However, you don't have to wait for the Internet of Things to take off to reap the benefits of more advanced technology. XFER can help you take advantage of productivity-increasing technology, as well as strong Internet security options. We can even provide phone and technical support via 734-927-6666 / 800-GET-XFER. So, whether the Internet of Things is a flop or not, XFER will still be here to provide you with solutions for all of your technical needs.