Musings  on  Technology  and  Humanity  

Advances  in  technology  have  been  altering  daily  life  con9nuously  since  

the  dawn  of  9me.  

Such  a  statement  might  seem  bold  on  the  surface  but  if  we  look  a  li>le  deeper,  we  can  see  that  the  above  

statement  is  a  truism.  

Once  humans  mastered  pyrotechnology,  civiliza9on  could  

take  hold.  

The  iron  age,  the  bronze  age,  the  Industrial  Revolu9on  —  all  pivotal  9mes  in  humani9es  development,  soon  followed  humanity’s  control  

over  fire.  

In  more  modern  terms,  bringing  electricity  into  the  home  was  a  huge  change  for  how  people  lived  their  

daily  lives.  

A  radio  in  every  home,  replaced  soon  enough  by  the  television,  

increased  the  speed  of  informa9on  drama9cally.  

The  telephone  connected  us  in  a  way  unforeseen.  

And  in  the  our  recent  memory,  the  personal  computer,  coupled  with  the  Internet,  has  had  tremendous  effect  

on  our  daily  lives.  

The  connec9vity  provided  by  the  Internet  has  dras9cally  changed  

social  interac9on,  business,  poli9cs,  educa9on  ad  infinitum.  

These  asser9ons  lead  to  us  to  a  logical  ques9on:  What’s  next?  

The  Internet  of  Things  refers  to  a  scenario  where  people,  things  and  animals  are  equipped  with  a  piece  of  technology  capable  of  sending  and  receiving  data  without  the  direct  interac9on  of  human  to  human  or  

human  to  computer.  

The  connec9vity  is  inherent  in  their  design.  Radio-­‐frequency  iden9fiers  are  the  primary  example  used  to  

describe  this  scenario.  

The  most  obvious  applica9on  is  for  inventory  purposes.  

If  you  have  a  warehouse  stocked  with  thousands  of  separate,  unique  pieces  of  stock,  it  is  a  huge  challenge  

to  keep  everything  organized.    

While  companies  have  been  naviga9ng  these  challenges  for  years,  RFIDs  offer  a  solu9on.  

If  all  the  items  in  this  imaginary  warehouse  are  equipped  with  a  device  that  can  send  and  receive  data,  then  the  process  of  located  it  is  streamlined  like  never  before.  

All  you  would  have  to  ask  and  the  object  could  reply.  

Holding  up  a  receiver  that  searches  for  the  specific  frequency  produced  by  the  object’s  device  would  lead  you  straight  to  the  object  you  seek.  

The  warehouse  example  was  in  the  forefront  of  the  conversa9on  when  RFIDs  became  affordable  on  a  mass  

scale.  

But  we  can  extrapolate  the  concepts  at  play  and  look  toward  the  future  of  

human/technology  interac9on.  

The  Internet  of  Things  

Aside  from  the  conversa9on  about  RFIDs,  connec9vity  in  devices  has  been  increasing  tremendously.  

You  phone  can  talk  with  your  computer,  you  music  device  can  

connect  via  Blue  Tooth  to  your  car’s  stereo,  etc.  

These  connec9ons  are  establishing  a  network  of  informa9on  —  an  Internet  of  Things.  But  we  can  

expand  our  view  of  what  the  ‘things’  can  be.  

It  could  be  a  pa9ents  pace-­‐maker  device  communica9ng  with  a  

hospital,  a  farm  animals  biometric  device  communica9ng  with  the  farmer,  or  a  sensor  on  a  car’s  

bumper  that  9ghtens  the  seatbelt  milliseconds  before  a  collision.  

We  can  see  how  these  examples  are  not  super  far  fetched;  in  fact  they  may  already  exist  in  some  form.  

As  the  cost  of  small,  accessible  devices  goes  down,  we  can  expect  

to  see  them  more  regularly  integrated  into  the  products  we  use  

on  a  daily  basis.  

If  your  milk  carton  has  such  a  device  (not  necessarily  a  RFID),  then  your  ‘smart-­‐fridge’  can  alert  you  when  it  is  reaching  it’s  expira9on  date.  

And  as  grocery  delivery  services  become  for  normal,  your  

refrigerator  could  automa9cally  order  more  milk  from  your  favorite  store  once  yours  is  running  low.  

Your  weekly  groceries,  ordered  automa9cally,  delivered  by  drone,  could  all  be  done  without  your  

direct  ac9on  (aside  from  ini9al  setup  and  consent).  

 Your  smart  microwave  would  know  exactly  how  long  to  cook  your  Hot  Pocket  by  communica9ng  with  the  

box  it  comes  in.  

A  bu>on  on  your  TV  remote  could  be  pressed  to  automa9cally  order  whatever  product  is  featured  

onscreen.  

Beyond  these  consumer  based  applica9ons,  the  Internet  of  Things  as  many  logis9cal  uses  as  well.  

Having  subway  cars  communicated  con9nuously  with  a  central  control  board  would  expedite  mass  transit  in  New  York  City,  which  has  already  

started  in  London.  

If  your  trash  can  knows  how  full  it  is,  it  can  sent  informa9on  that  will  help  city  planners  determine  routes  for  

sanita9on  workers.  

Some  assert  that  the  Internet  of  Things  will  be  our  genera9on’s  electricity  —  which  is  to  say  a  

fundamental  shi^  in  how  human’s  interact  with  and  use  technology.  

Musings  on  Technology  and  Humanity