[Xmca-l] Re: TECH FLASH: update on the foibles of The Internet of Things, oh and also the honey bees

[Annalisa Aguilar]

Hi Huw,

I think the proof is in the pudding. What I considered when I read your reply, Huw, is – 

1. you are in the UK and don't have to care about the FCC 
(as the case with many others on this list not in the US)

2. you are far more knowledgeable about technology than many on this list.

While none of these are damning properties in themselves, they might make Cory's points seem invisible to you. Hence your "so what?" response. Is this a possibility?  Just asking.

You hit the nail on the head (and perhaps are in agreement with Cory) in that there isn't much discussion about this, and more so, what it portends for our future. We had no clue, for example, what life "would be like" when almost everyone has a cellphone. It's changed the way we interact as humans, yes? What about TIOT? How will that change us and how we interact? 

I posted Cory's article (which was posted on a website dedicated to writers of science fiction and fantasy, not exactly the NY Times) because of its educational value for those who might not understand what TIOT means. I kinda have to know what the technology is and some idea how it works and what it's meant to do before I can begin to consider the implications, ethically or otherwise.

What Cory seems to be saying is that there is a huge conflict ahead if this technology doesn't "play well with others" if "others" are our existing governance practices, or just my baby monitor playing well with your air-traffic control tower. 

It's good for people to understand what "wicked problem" means, as a definition for the kinds of problems when no one can agree that there actually IS a problem. Politics is wicked most of the time.

There will be a conflict. It'll be another form of "The Wild West" which I don't think will be all that romantic. It will be another "market" for captains of industry to exploit. Additionally, our actual *space* will be colonized by radio waves (more than it already is), what was somewhat "pristine lands" despite electrical grids, TV and radio stations, and cellphone towers. But what if all these radio waves aren't good for us? That's what I've been thinking about. What if it's our version of Roman lead pipes?

I remember someone telling me that people who are not properly educated (not just the three Rs but also how to be a decent human being) will have to rely upon government to "teach" them (in the form of school teachers, school principals, police officers, indifferent courts and punishing prisons), because those will be the ones who don't know how to relate [ethically, peacefully, or even vibrantly] in society. It seems that the TIOT could become another form of " a government with eyes", and that isn't exactly a happy thought if humans must rely upon TIOT to police them from inception. 

So like Cory, if there is a TIOT and it seems there will be, I agree it should not be automated, and it certainly shouldn't be centralized, but it also seems that it's just another way "inevitable technology" will invade us and we will just have to "get used to it." I don't think TIOT will bring utopia.

Makes me want to move to a Pacific Island that is at a high enough enough to survive climate change. Am I a Luddite because I want to have radio silent space?

The reason I posted the honeybees article, is that some people have wondered if the "volume" of radio waves penetrating the atmosphere have been interfering with honeybee hive health. Or even butterfly migrations. 

Neonicotinoids are only one clue of the bee colony collapse mystery. 

We just don't know enough yet. One things for sure, no bees, no food.

Kind regards,

Annalisa