A while back, I did a module on Ethics in the aspect of technology. The theme assigned to our group was on pervasive computing. While it is a very interesting topic, it was a very scary one. The hype is all about the wonders it can bring. The dangers, though known, are being downplayed.
What pervasive computing promises is a integration of data and technology which will work together to profile you and react to your needs. Of course the good thing is the convenience. You don't need to "teach" or tell your gadget what to do anymore. They will know. And what your car knows, your gadgets in the workplace knows, and so do those in at home or practically any place you go.
Privacy is at stake as a result. Already we are seeing consequences of giving out too much information in twitter and facebook and other social networks. Pervasive computing brings it to another level by integrating with your everyday lifestyle, revealing more because of its necessity to profile everything about you to work. And if you reject this new level of speed and convenience it offers, you get left behind.
The more we read up on it, the more we realized that there are so many other issues at stake here. Privacy aside, security is another issue. What precious information you once fear might be revealed by trojans and other forms of hacks to your computer is now no longer restricted to just the computer. There are a ton of others which I feel I might as well just post the entire 4K word essay we wrote online. But I shall leave it at these two threats for now.
Pervasive computing is not the future, it is now. The underlying infrastructure can already support such technology. We have just begun implementation as can be seen from our mobile devices.
Honestly, I welcome pervasive computing as long as it is integrated slow enough for the most dire issues to be reasonably addressed. I just find it really intimidating if it is rushed for economic reasons and too many things get sacrificed in the process.
Either way, when we finally get to the stage that was seen in the video, most people would just renounce some of their privacy in exchange for that lifestyle without a second thought simply because it is accepted as the norm.
