2020: END OF THE INFORMATION AGE AND BEGINNING OF
THE AGE OF IOT
Part I - The Information Age,
End Of An Era
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The Information Age was defined by 3 distinct phases; the 1st Phase, characterised by newspapers, radio and television. The 2nd Phase developed by internet, satellite, computers and mobile phones. And the 3rd Phase saw the emergence of social and digital/new media; which was in effect a merger of media from the first and second phases.
Having began in the late 1960's to early 1970's the Information Age came to an end this year. 2020 therefore marks not only the beginning of a new decade, but also a new era. We are now living in the Age of IoT [the Internet of Things] which will also come to be known as The Age Of Surveillance.
IoT, The Internet Of Things,
The Internet of Things or IoT refers to a system of internet-enabled devices that go beyond computers and smartphones to a range of other things such as automobiles, homes, televisions and fridges to name a few.
These interrelated, internet-connected objects continuously collect and relay information over a wireless network without human intervention.
The actual term “Internet of Things” was coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999 during his work at Procter & Gamble. Ashton was a brand manager at the time and working on a product launch. Noticing the shelves were often empty of one particular shade of Oil of Olay line of lipstick, he sought to develop a way to remotely track the quantity of on display - a radio enabled chip known as RFID (radio-frequency identification) to electronically – and instantly – transmit supply chain data.
IoT is therefore a combination of two fields; technology and the supply chain management function of industry. Economists refer to this phenomenon as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (or Industry 4.0. according to the World Economic Forum which coined the phrase).
The information or data collected is intended to provide businesses and people with better insight into and control over those objects, as well as their respective processes and environments. And herein lies the challenge of our times, pivotal will be the question of whether players will leverage this new technology for marketing research or surveillance.
Marketing Research vs. Intelligence Gathering
"Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data about issues relating to marketing or providing better products and services to individuals" - as carried out by the private and public sector alike.
An intelligence gathering network, on the other hand, is "a system through which information about a particular entity is collected for the benefit of another through the use of more than one, inter-related source." In the Information Age, such information (or data) although traditionally gathered by military or government intelligence shifted to become a commercial intelligence network through the rise of digital media. Along the way, some web-based platforms and services gradually morphed into intelligence gathering agencies. Users however, continued to use them for their original purposes, socialising, surfing the web, shopping online, entertaining and getting entertained.
The line, however, is clearly drawn where the information collected can be uniquely identified back to the individual. Thus making the case for intelligence gathering.
For Example;
In the 1980s, citizens of Germany successfully sued the government over a census questionnaire so detailed it would allow the government to identify individuals. The court recognised the citizens' right to "informational self-determination" and blocked the sharing of any personal information with any government agency or corporation.
What makes this a new era?
In the Information Age, general internet usage started in the mid-to-late 1990's. Even though Arpanet (the internet's predecessor) was launched in 1969 it was under limited use within the US military.
Similarly, the internet’s first thing was John Romkey’s ‘smart’ toaster in 1989. Followed by a Coca-Cola machine located at the Carnegie Melon University among others. Therefore, IoT has been with us for 30+ years, it's use limited within the field of technology.
For a technology to usher humanity into a new epoch two roles have to be fulfilled; it has to be able to be put to wide use and it has to have the capability of being commercially exploited.
The Covid-19 pandemic acted as the catalyst to what would have taken years if not decades to achieve in terms of wide acceptance and application of IoT devices.
Part II - Democracy Meets Technocracy
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That being said, key players 2020 are on the move and currently in the race for automation, environmental change and surveillance under the guise of security.
Examples Include;
Amazon Ring's latest camera, the Always Home Cam - an autonomous drone with the ability to fly around the inside of a person's home, once mapped, under the guise of providing a view of any room when they're not home. It obeys voice commands and is also fully autonomous with the ability to return to its dock to charge its battery.
Google's Street View, cars providing a 360° video map of streets worldwide, residential areas included. All this in view of giving the user the ability to visit their hometown via 'interactive roadside panoramas.'
Facebook's Libra, a blockchain-based global payment system weighed against real world currencies and set to be launched in all
Overall, the combined projects of these organizations has led to an increase of power in CEO's of Tech over Chief Executives of State. The greatest existential threat to Democracy, in America and worldwide, is therefore not Communism or Socialism. But Technocracy.
A Technocracy is simply defined as "the government or control of society or industry by an elite of technical experts." A Democracy on the other hand is a form of government in which the people have the authority to choose their governing leaders and therefore hold them accountable.
Although Amazon, Facebook and Google (Alphabet Inc.) each have a board of directors, the founders have majority shareholding and therefore final say. They are subject to no authority.
In the case of Apple, the majority shareholder Arthur D. Levinson acts as Chairman of the board of directors and is also CEO of a company called Calico (a venture of Alphabet Inc, Google's parent company).
Part III - The Disruptors Will Be Disrupted
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Privacy will be the cornerstone of the Age of IoT. And coincidentally it won't be about access control, but rather access-free infrastructure. Restricting access to the platform owners themselves as a standard and measure of protection against surveillance and misuse.
The lack of such security measures has undoubtedly set Big Tech, namely Facebook, Google, Amazon & Apple on a collision course with consumers, their own lawmakers and foreign governments worldwide.
Therefore, as the dominant players mistakenly race to automate, there will be a change of guard. The outliers, those on the fringe of cyber security and internet privacy will arise with an influx of new devices, apps, software and protocols that are privacy centered.
This shift is highly likely to be led by companies such as - Signal an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform founded by the former founder of WhatsApp, Kevin Acton. Other platforms to look out for are Mega the storage app based out of New Zealand, Zoho Corporation based in Chennai India that primarily serves the local 1 billion+ market and run by a former Silicon Valley software engineer. As well as the Swiss-based ProtonMail by former CERN scientists.
Part IV - The Future
When asked how he felt about The Internet of Things John Romkey is quoted as having replied. "I have mixed feelings. There are such wonderful possibilities for science, medicine, the environment, and just everyday convenience. And there are such nightmarish science fiction scenarios, particularly around security vulnerabilities that are epidemic in the IoT.”
In light of all this, what does the future look like?
Privacy First
The future is therefore, not just private but Privacy First.
This is an age where people will come before profit, primarily to avoid having this same technology used as a tool to subjugate humanity rather than serve them.
Consumers will no longer seek for convenience over their own personal/private security. Privacy First not over but as a foundation to security devices, softwares and innovations that would otherwise erode privacy - the most basic of human rights.
Governments will enact legislation on how the data of their citizenry should be handled. Individual users will reel in the amount of information they make available on the internet and developers will build with privacy-focused designs from the ground up.
As a result, the individuals to look out for in this era are not just purely talented, intelligent and ambitious alone. They also operate with a sense of ethos and are able to balance between passion and caution. In this new era trust is the currency of the masses and the practices and values that will distinguish one organization from the other and stratospheric success from Titanic failure.
Technologies De-Centralised/Localised
No longer will we see such a vast armory of technology in the hands of a few private organizations. Technologies will be de-centralised or diversified among a wide variety of individuals, across different countries/regional blocks and relevant organizations, by virtue of users preferring a localised or tailored version of an alternative to Big-Tech.
For Example:
Symphony is an instant messaging service for financial firms. A technology built as an internal messaging system by Goldman Sachs (then called Live Current). The platform supports encryption, group messaging, rich content sharing and third-party plugins.
In the last age we sought to think different. In the age of IoT, to borrow from the words of William Boeing, we look to "Build something better."
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Christine Nyaga, Digital Media Advisor/Strategist, Boundless Digital Media {A digital media company based out of the Silicon Savanah — Nairobi, Kenya}
