In connection with my day job, I just listened to this online interview series about the Internet of Things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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There were a few points that interested me as someone who likes to think about, and write fiction set in, the future:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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– Industry will need different kinds of workers (more flexible, participating in lifetime learning, good at working in teams, doing more decisionmaking).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Therefore, a different approach to education and a different education system will be needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Who owns the data produced by the things you own? The manufacturer? You? The government?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
– Resilience of the system is important as complexity increases – ability to “reboot” in an acceptable timeframe, or otherwise deal with failure in a way that doesn’t cascade into other, linked systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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I also came up with a story idea: in a world of automated machines which cooperate according to their digital model of the world, a person is voluntarily or involuntarily excluded from that world, and therefore at risk as well as free – the machines can’t “see” the person.<\/p>\n\n\n