Dana Rodriguez
One could pick pretty much any topic, and people would rally both in favor of and in opposition to it. Everything has its pros and its cons, and The Internet of Things is no exception to this. People have been debating the advantages and disadvantages of the IoT, both sides making valid points, and it leaves people wondering. When seeing all the information from both sides, people ask themselves if IoT is really a good or a bad thing? To even attempt to answer that question, we have to look at both sides of the argument.
The first side of the argument is the side that claims that the pros of the IoT outweigh the cons. What exactly are these pros? Well, there’s a lot. It opens up a world of opportunities in more than one way. The means to communicate are made stronger than ever through the IoT, both machine to machine, person to person, and machine to person. The idea of being connected is a core part of the IoT. In a system where all these devices exist in contingence with one another, a complex, tangled web of thoughts, ideas, data, etc. being shared with one another is bound to be created. The machine to person aspect of this connection also means that people will have more access than ever to information. Communication is a vital means to innovation, and in a network like IoT, communication will almost certainly become a catalyst to all kinds of ideas we can not even imagine. One big piece of this innovation is automation. The IoT is making technology smarter, even making it smart enough to take over human tasks. Automating human jobs could lead to better, quicker, and more effective work in many aspects of our lives. It could lead to groundbreaking transformation in fields such as medicine that has the potential to change society at its core. In this and other ways, the IoT could take us places we have never been before. Debatably best of all, the IoT is cost-effective. The IoT is taking the cost out of the fields it is approving. Accessing information, communicating, doing jobs, etc. is all quicker, and more accessible than ever, cutting out the time and cost that old methods of doing these things presented. Still, there are disadvantages to consider.
The IoT is not all rainbows and unicorns, and there is plenty of ground to make an argument against it. Perhaps the most rallied behind concern in regards to the IoT is security. Everyone has heard horror stories of people sharing just a little bit too much on the internet: having their information sold off social medias such as Facebook, accidentally giving their information away through scams, even having their devices hacked. While younger generations are getting more accustomed to the world of over-sharing, most people still hold concerns about the security of their personal information and take precautions to protect it. With the IoT being able to access so much information, it raises the concerns of said information falling into the wrong hands. Another concern is exactly where the innovation will take us. While surely some people are just scared of robots taking over and destroying society, the concern of technology taking over is rooted in a much more realistic place. If automation picks up, corporations will inevitably jump at the chance of unpaid labor. This will leave less jobs for people who actually need them, and many will be left unemployed. These are just a few of the concerns people have about the IoT.
Finally, we get to answering the question of whether the IoT is a good or a bad thing. My answer is this: you tell me. While I personally see that the IoT has more advantages than disadvantages, the disadvantages are not without stock and it would be foolish for us to simply brush them under the rug. However, if we are careful with how we proceed, the IoT, which has already become invaluable, could further change our lives for the better. I urge you to take in all the facts and see for yourself what it is the IoT has to offer.
Works Cited
Lath, Anuja. “Pros and Cons of Internet of Things.” BBN News, 5 Aug. 2018, bbntimes.com/companies/pros-cons-of-internet-of-things
The Internet of Things 