Wednesday, October 7, 2015

What is your role in defining what "The Internet of Things" can be?

Dan Kaufman/ATAP/GOOGLE
Dan Kaufman, Deputy Director of ATAP at Google gave us insight on thinking outside of the box and how "disruption" is a corner stone in mobility technology.  As I arrived at home after Dan's talk, a Google landrover was driving through my neighborhood collecting data for streetscapes in Google Earth and Maps.  It was exciting to see this car with a camera or sensors on top collecting data that we use to get around and see our life and others from around the world at the touch of a button.
But what does that mean in the larger scheme of things?  Does the global positioning of your home allow others from around the world to define who they think you are? Does it reinforce the status quo or reaffirm stereotypes?  Does it make humanity more skeptical or even humane?
Dr. Dre

How do we maintain humanity in technology. Dan talked about the smartphone not even being a phone with the computing power it poses. It could be used and is used as a threat to national security, even home security. The computer in our pockets have become the center point or "hub" of our life.  How will engineers keep advanced technologies humane? For example, how will bio engineering connect with info technology (the cloud) that integrates various nanotechnologies and machines such as automobiles to save lives? What will the user experience be? Who defines the authenticity of the user experience? Is"The Internet of Things" culturally based? Will it be? Who will define the culture?

In posing these questions, I think about Dr. Dre.
  1. Did he have a vision beyond music?  What was it?
  2. Was he thinking about disruption in his production style?  Did he have vision for products or improving them when he was a young street Dj?
  3. What will "The Internet of Things" be for BEATS or the next tech start up that disrupts how smartphones are used in entertainment, medicine, and mobility? 
Check out
http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/11/the-internet-of-things-bigger/

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