Do you want to subscribe to life? On the issue of IoT Privacy
The following was inspired by two TEDx Talks:
The Future of Your Personal Data – Privacy vs. Monetization by Stuart Lacey
The coming privacy crisis on the Internet of Things by Alasdair Allan
What if … your husband thinks you are cheating on him while he is on business trips overseas and he decides to access your location data stored on your phone, that shows that at certain times during the night you are not at home (where you claim to be) but seem to go to someone else’s home, and combined that information with your heartbeat data from your Fitbit, that reveals that your heartbeat went up to 157 beats per second over a period of half an hour at the same time? (see Stuard Lacey: min 4)
What if … you talk to your friend about going to the Edinburgh Christmas market and you discuss opening hours and conclude none of you know when the market closes, and then Alexa or Siri start talking to you and mentioning the opening hours (advertisers heartbeat are peaking right now)?
What if … in a world of autonomous vehicles, algorithms will decide over your life or death in seconds because they have entered a situation where either you are going to die or the person in the autonomous vehicle coming the other way. Maybe they will base this decision on your personal data, i.e. age - which one has already lived a long life, race or gender - depending on the country you live in there might be preferences of survivors, income statements - are you generating value to this society or are you a burden for the government. Or worse, what if hackers decide if you are going to die in your chosen autonomous vehicle. What if it is just someone you bullied in school 8 years ago, that wants to take revenge, but leaves your wife and child behind?
Nevertheless, looking at these frightening scenarios above, one might believe that privacy with IoT devices must come and there is no way around it simply because this becomes too private and too dangerous. However, humans are creatures of habits. We have known the internet for quite some years now and it always was for free. Services that in the physical world would cost money (i.e. buying an encyclopedia) were suddenly available for free. Basically, most of the services provided via the internet were free, whether that was entertainment, communication, education. Slowly business models are evolving that offer better services for entertainment (Netflix, Spotify) and education (coursera) than the free versions but also ask for a subscription fee.
Would we be adjustable to paying monthly subscription fees for our fridge, washing machine, and thermostat? We understand those things were never for free, we bought them, spent money once and that was it. But if we are only willing to pay for the object and not for the development of the software - will they sell our data to make a profit and develop new products? Certainly, yes! On the other hand, it seems outrageous to charge subscription fees for everything. You already pay for amazon prime, Netflix, Spotify, your local gym membership, your membership at the tennis club and now add your watch, your washing machine, your medical device ... Would this create a social gap? Would you be willing to subscribe to a certain lifestyle?