Internet of Things – The Dark Side

Excess of anything is bad. Internet of Things, rather, Internet of Everything seems to be a precursor in the same direction. Today when we think about it, it seems it would be wonderful to live a well-planned, organized life managed by devices monitored by the Internet.

Sample this. You wake up to a warm cup of coffee made ready by your Bicentennial Man (Robin Williams, 1999) with the dishes already done per the schedule you set last night, and as you get dressed, the Plan-man (which is displayed on your led-based digitized mirror) updates you regarding the planned activities for the day. As you leave the house, your Car-Jockey automatically provides the exact information regarding the fastest route to take to avoid meeting traffic, while the Secura-system is set up automatically at your home. To top it all, all these devices are integrated on your smart-phone and laptop, and you can manage them all with a single click.

Sounds awesome, doesn’t it!

But do you think that once you get accustomed to the comforts of these luxuries, you will still be able to exercise your free will? What if you have a willingness to have Ginger tea instead of coffee while getting up and the machine is pre-programmed to provide only coffee – and you have to have it, willy-nilly? Doesn’t sound so good now, does it.

Courtesy: https://news.discovery.com/human/life/advanced-crime-predicting-technologies-is-minority-report-here-infographic.htm

The movie Minority Report (starring Tom Cruise) that was released in 2002, dealt with the central theme of free will versus determinism. It examines whether free will can exist if the future is set and known in advance. Other theme also included the role of media in a future state where technological advancements make its presence nearly boundless. Just because a hacker in position is able to alter certain codes, an innocent person becomes a victim of committing a crime that he may commit in the future – and so must be caught and imprisoned. Is this not way too much of technological advancement – and resultantly, interference in our day to day lives?

Today, a lot of our interpersonal relationships are almost completely online and on the phone, with the exception of forgettable interactions with neighbours and (sadly) rare personal visits to our old and needy parents. All our data is online – and God forbid, lest any hacker, or someone who does not wish you well, happens to be able to access, and delete all your data – what would you do? Imagine this: your car is no longer at the parking lot, your credit cards are invalid, your home has been emptied and listed for sale – and because none of the neighbours remember you, they cannot confirm your identity. Ah – even your PAN number/Social Security number is now assigned to someone who is a wanted criminal. This was the central theme of the movie The Net starring Sandra Bullock in 1995.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser, a movie released in 1996 however erases the records under the Witness Security Protection Program (WITSEC) specializing in "erasing" high-profile witnesses, faking their deaths to keep them safe from those who may wish to silence them. Two very different sides of the same coin, isn’t it?

Courtesy: https://carsontky.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/screen-shot-2014-01-13-at-11-32-22-pm.png

Now, for a second, I ask you to close your eyes, and think of the movie Wall-E released in 2008. The movie shows the adventures of WALL-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class) in the year 2805 who follows EVE, an advanced robot probe sent from the Buy 'n' Large starliner Axiom to search for vegetation on Earth. Do you remember how obese are the passengers on Axiom? The obesity is a result of total reliance on the automated systems for every need. Not to forget the Captain who is actually being controlled by Auto - the ship's robotic autopilot. The movie also talks about how the Buy 'n' Large Corporation concluded in 2110 that the planet could not be saved. That’s less than a century away folks!

Be the master of your Internet Apps – don’t become slaves to comfort is all I would request! How you ask? Well, for starters, get a proper Testing done for Security, Functioning, and Seamlessness.

Reference Acknowledgement Note: The plot details for the movies have been taken from their respective pages on Wikipedia.