Ambient Intelligence: A Privacy Nightmare or the Key to the Future?

Addressing the privacy and security concerns and future implications of Ambient Intelligence and the Internet of Things.

A condensed version of the report: “Ambient Intelligence: An Analysis of Current Concerns, Established Issues, and Prospects for the Future” by Christina Jackson, Yashvi Patel, Melvin Viado and Christian Weersink for Durham College’s Computer Programming and Analysis course “Emerging Technologies” under the guidance of Professor Kanav Kahol

Internet of Things (IoT): A network of interconnected devices that have the ability to communicate with each other, typically without human intervention.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): A simulation of human intelligence inside non-human technologies. These technologies can think, learn, and problem solve.
Machine Learning: A subset of AI. The development of the algorithms that allow the technologies and machines to learn, think, and problem solve.
Smart Devices: Devices connected to the internet. They can share, collect, and process data while being controlled remotely and operated autonomously.
Blockchain: A technology that allows digital information to be stored securely and transparently through storing transactions in “blocks”, linked in a “chain”. This information cannot be edited or deleted, due to being decentralized. This means no one central entity has control over the data.
Smart City: An urban area where different technologies are interconnected and work together to increase efficiency, resident quality of life, and sustainability, while decreasing costs and resource use.

Imagine a world where your devices anticipate your needs before you express them. Ambient computing, the seamless integration of technology into everyday environments, is transforming how we live and work. But as our environments get smarter, the question arises: Are they secure enough to protect our data and privacy? This article explores the critical security challenges of ambient computing and highlights potential future uses.

Also called ubiquitous computing, ambient computing consists of three very popular, already-established subcategories of the technology sector: machine learning, artificial intelligence, and smart gadgets and devices.[1] These subcategories combine and work together to create the unified system.

Ambient computing offers transformative solutions to long-standing inefficiencies in various domains by leveraging interconnected devices, AI, and real-time data processing. Its ability to create context-aware environments ensures seamless integration of multiple systems, which translates into enhanced productivity, cost savings, and innovative opportunities. The technology enables significant cost savings across sectors. In healthcare, ambient systems facilitate remote patient monitoring, reducing hospital visits and associated costs. Similarly, smart energy systems optimize resource use, helping homes and businesses save up to 30% on energy expenses.[2]

Privacy in the Age of Surveillance
The risks of ambient computing are increasingly evident. Security breaches in IoT and ambient systems highlight the urgency of addressing these vulnerabilities. For example, incidents of hackers taking control of smart home devices, such as cameras or voice assistants, demonstrate the ease with which unprotected systems can be compromised.[3] In healthcare, ambient computing supports remote patient monitoring, but any security lapse could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive health records or manipulation of medical devices, endangering lives.[4] Protecting these systems is essential for preserving user privacy, maintaining trust, and ensuring smooth operations in sensitive environments

The main privacy concerns around ambient intelligence environments involve constant data collection, data breaches, and lack of data control.

Ambient computing, while enhancing quality of life, has the potential to compromise our fundamental rights. Devices have constant collection about our behaviour, location, and habits. This information can build a profile that can expose personal information and preferences. The event of this happening can be a result of devices with weak security measures that allow for this misuse of data. Therefore, we should be concerned with how our data is collected, used, and stored by different companies and organizations. Additionally, users should also be given more control about how their data is taken and used.

Companies and organizations may have difficulty sharing their methods of continuous data collection, making it challenging for users to understand how their data is collected and for companies to get informed consent from their users. Privacy policies often are written in complicated legal language in great length that the average user is not likely to understand. Companies also tend to rapidly change their privacy policies which further results in struggle for users to acknowledge. Users in general find that they have lack of trust in these companies to begin with due to breaches of sensitive information in the past. With this taken into consideration, users may not bother with reading policy details in the first place.[5]

Innovations like blockchain-based security frameworks are expected to enhance data transparency and integrity. By decentralizing data storage, blockchain reduces the risk of single points of failure.[6]

Challenges related to privacy and governance shape the innovation landscape of ambient computing. New technologies like the aforementioned blockchain are emerging to enhance transparency and security in data management. These developments aim to address concerns while fostering trust among users, which is crucial for sustained adoption.

Figure 1: Cross-Impact Matrix showcasing benefits of Ambient Technology and the associated risks. Data adapted from “Success Story: Privacy Rights in the Ambient Computing Era” (2018), Reddy (2022), and Hung et al. (2024).

The World Economic Forum’s State of the Connected World 2023 Edition published a study regarding the public’s confidence in the protection of personal data that is collected by interconnected devices, the IoT, and AmI. The graph below is an example of that survey’s results. More can be found through their website here.

Figure 2: Diagram showing the surveyed public’s confidence that the technology of interconnected devices has ethical and responsible data use protections in place. Reprinted from the World Economic Forum, “State of the Connected World 2023 Edition” https://www.weforum.org/publications/state-of-the-connected-world-2023-edition/

One way to increase comfort with Ambient Technology is to introduce stricter legislation that holds corporations accountable for transparency, allows for informed consent in what data is collected and how it is used, and give citizens the ability to opt out or delete information of theirs that they do not want collected or shared.

Endless Potential
While the Internet of Things has not been a major focus in recent years, overshadowed by advancements in artificial intelligence, ambient technology is likely to see greater adoption and growth in the near future. As AI becomes more powerful and popular, it is starting to be implemented more often in ambient technology.

In their research within the Journal of Building Engineering, Abioye et al.[7] highlight the increase in frequency of academic papers focused on subsets of Artificial Intelligence: machine learning, knowledge-based systems, and more in the figure below.

Figure 3. Frequency of papers focused on artificial intelligence and its subsets from 1960–2019. Reprinted from “Artificial Intelligence in the construction industry: A review of present status, opportunities and future challenges”, by Abioye et al., 2021, Journal of Building Engineering, 44, 103299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103299

As seen above, the frequency skyrocketed within the decade between 2010 and 2020. The world of academia seemed to have become laser-focused on AI and the ways it could help, or hinder, the world.

In 2017, the McKinsey Global Institute explored the emergence and popularity of Smart Cities in their report “Smart Cities: Digital Solutions for a more Livable Future”.[8] These cities, urban centers around the world that combine Ambient Intelligence and AI with physical infrastructure, create a hub of human interaction, with sustainability, efficiency, convenience, and citizens’ quality of life at the forefront.

Many positive outcomes are possible through smart cities. Some examples include a significant reduction in crime through proactive rather than reactive methods; smart street and traffic lights offering intelligent, adaptive responses to traffic patterns and pedestrian usage; and automation and tracking of utilities such as water and electricity to help prevent overuse and waste.

The smart city test bed Songdo, South Korea, is a specific example of this technology in use. Songdo is focused on sustainability but also on adding the goal of shifting South Korea’s dependence on traditional industry.[9]

Ambient computing offers incredible opportunities to enhance our lives, but its security challenges cannot be ignored. By integrating innovative safeguards and prioritizing ethical development, we can build a smarter and safer future. As users, staying informed and advocating for transparency is key to navigating this transformative era responsibly. If the majority lack the required trust and refuse to interact with ambient technology, its potential will remain just that: potential.

Citations:

1. Cashman, C. (2023, June 22). What is ambient computing?: HP Tech takes. What Is Ambient Computing? | HP Tech Takes. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/what-is-ambient-computing
2. Poyyamozhi, M., Murugesan, B., Rajamanickam, N., Shorfuzzaman, M., & Aboelmagd, Y. (2024). IOT — a promising solution to energy management in Smart Buildings: A systematic review, applications, barriers, and future scope. Buildings, 14(11), 3446. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113446
3. Hersh, M. A., & Johnson, P. (2020). Security risks in ambient computing: Understanding the vulnerabilities in IoT and smart devices. Journal of Cybersecurity, 8(1), 33–45. https://jis-eurasipjournals.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13635-020-00111-0/
4. Martinez-Martin, N., Luo, Z., Kaushal, A., Adeli, E., Haque, A., Kelly, S. S., Wieten, S., Cho, M. K., Magnus, D., Fei-Fei, L., Schulman, K., & Milstein, A. (2020). Ethical issues in using ambient intelligence in health-care settings. The Lancet Digital Health, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/s2589-7500(20)30275-2/
5. McClain, C., Park, E., Anderson, M., & Faverio, M. (2023, October 18). How americans view data privacy. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/10/18/how-americans-view-data-privacy/
6. Zubaydi, H. D., Varga, P., & Molnár, S. (2023). Leveraging blockchain technology for ensuring security and privacy aspects in internet of things: A systematic literature review. Sensors, 23(2), 788. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23020788
7. Abioye, S. O., Oyedele, L. O., Akanbi, L., Ajayi, A., Davila Delgado, J. M., Bilal, M., Akinade, O. O., & Ahmed, A. (2021). Artificial Intelligence in the construction industry: A review of present status, opportunities, and future challenges. Journal of Building Engineering, 44, 103299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103299
8. McKinsey Global Institute. (2018). Smart cities: Digital solutions for a more livable future: Executive summary. McKinsey & Company.
9. Kuecker, G. D., & Hartley, K. (2019). How smart cities became the urban norm: Power and knowledge in New Songdo City. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 110(2), 516–524. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2019.1617102
10. World Health Organization. (2024, October 1). Ageing and health. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health#:~:text=At%20this%20time%20the%20share,2050%20to%20reach%20426%20million.
11. CoE-EDP, V. (2024, September 30). IOMT’s role in the future of Healthcare: From AI integration to remote monitoring: Health. Devdiscourse. https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/health/3104180-iomts-role-in-the-future-of-healthcare-from-ai-integration-to-remote-monitoring

Figure 1: Success Story: Privacy rights in the Ambient Computing Era. Intel. (2018). https://software.intel.com/content/www/us/en/develop/articles/success-story-privacy-rights-in-the-ambient-computing-era.html,
Reddy S, T. A. (2022). Ambient computing: The integration of technology into our daily lives. Journal of Artificial Intelligence & Cloud Computing, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.47363/jaicc/2022(1)135,
Hung, J. C., Yen, N. Y., & Massetto, F. I. (2024). Editorial for Ambient Intelligence and applications for Smart Environment and smart city. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing, 15(3), 1799–1800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-024-04783-1

Figure 2: World Economic Forum. (2023). State of the connected world 2023. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/publications/state-of-the-connected-world-2023-edition/

Figure 3: Abioye, S. O., Oyedele, L. O., Akanbi, L., Ajayi, A., Davila Delgado, J. M., Bilal, M., Akinade, O. O., & Ahmed, A. (2021). Artificial Intelligence in the construction industry: A review of present status, opportunities, and future challenges. Journal of Building Engineering, 44, 103299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103299