These are published chapters from my book The real Internet of Things, published on January 1st, 2017.

There are many who will read this book and see nothing but dystopia. In certain moods, I’m one of those people.

What’s important to understand, however, is that I’m not conjuring this reality into existence. I’m not enabling it to happen. I’m simply describing what is—without question—going to happen. As I talk about in the initial concept of Prediction, these are things that will come to pass not from conscious, planned thought, but rather because this is what humans will demand—and inevitably receive—because of what our species innately desires.

The amount of functionality these technologies will bring, and the demand for them by both consumers and industry, will be too powerful to oppose. They are an arriving train, and all we can do is get ready for it. When it gets here, it might run us down or it might take us comfortably to our destination. But it’s coming either way.

Many of the possible uses for these ideas deeply trouble me. As someone who cares about inequality, I see DAs as powerful levers for the successful to pull even further away from the masses. As someone in cybersecurity, I have compiled my own personal legion of abuse cases for so many of these capabilities, and they range from the troubling to the terrifying.

But my distaste for, and concern about, many of the potential abuses will not stop me from either alerting people of what’s coming, nor from seeking a way to transform it into something positive.

Hating the thought of this tech harming our humanity is natural, but don’t allow the unpleasantness convince you that it isn’t there, or that it isn’t inevitable. It is there. And it is coming.

So let’s use our energy to make the arrival as safe, secure, and beneficial to humanity as possible. Denial and dismissal help no one.

Extended content

There is far more to say on each individual topic presented here, as well as more topics to add. As I do I’ll be capturing them on my site at: danielmiessler.com/blog/. Please join me there as I continue to explore the concepts with related ideas, additional use cases, and conversation about how these technologies can and will be misused.