The CBC, a major Canadian radio station, just ran an episode about the Internet of Things (audio: http://bit.ly/1FYrbkN) last Saturday (on Terry O'Reilly's Under the Influence) . There were a few pearls in that 30-min. segment such as wireless diapers which notify the parents of wetness, SR-enabled toys that record your kids phrases (for marketing), and fridges that are supposedly going to be scheduling your restocking purchases (see script/pictures: http://bit.ly/1SQYED8). One of the thrusts behind the R&D in this area is to get different brands to talk to each other. That's quite a new world for us, linguists or information specialists, don't you think? Is the internet getting too chatty? How do you feel about such future?
In January 2015 I heard a keynote speech by a green innovator at HICSS2015 conference sensor enabled embedded systems (that are in R&D stage: http://bit.ly/1JeM79B). He talked of a single controller/sensor for all home gadget functions, and the big data that poured with such innovations, and how to make sense of it all (how much water's used, at what point, by which tap, etc). I keep thinking of what W. Gibson once said: "The future is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed". (Have you read "The Circle": http://bit.ly/1yJuKG3)?
What side are you on in this argument: a definite progress (no need to shop, all delivered by fridge butler),or a nightmare (can't hide anywhere, we do need locks on some rooms for a reason)?
The answer is "it depends" . There is no definite answer. People's expectations of Privacy also changes over period of time. When kodak camera's was introduced in 1888 they were banned on beaches but now people put their private pictures themselves on web !
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