The Internet of Things and the Near Future

By Kanu Avasthy

Soon the World Wide Web will not be something that we log into on our laptops, tablets and smart phones. It will be something that is living and breathing in everything around us. We will wear it and it will even be inside us. The Internet of Things concept is leading us all towards the new tech revolution that is coming our way. Personally I am looking forward it. This is something that will not only enhance our lives; it will bring to the fore those hidden layers that we prefer hiding - not that we hide a lot at the moment with all the information that we share on social media. Let me paint you a picture of what the next 15 years could look like -

· Your smart alarm will wake you up gently and if you live in the UK, you won't experience those cold mornings anymore thanks to your Nest thermostat, which will ensure that you wake up in a perfectly warm environment.

· Your cereal box will play the latest news headlines a la Minority Report, whilst you eat your breakfast.

· Amazon will have already shipped you the item that you hadn't got round to buying yet, but were always going to via its drone delivery service.

· The robot helper from Confused.com will get you up to speed with appointments and daily tasks that are yet to be completed (all the while saving you money on a Google self-driving car of course!).

Does that sound about right?! While it may seem like a scenario straight from a sci-fi film, it's not as far-fetched as you might think...

Ray Kurzweil, an exceptional futurist who now works for Google, has come out to say that robots will be smarter than humans by 2029. That is 15 years away. If you thought the last decade was full of wonderful gadgets and innovations, then prepare (no seriously) to be amazed for the next 10 years. Of course with robots doing our bidding there is a chance that we could end up as the ball shaped humans in Wall-E, eating and bingeing on box sets of House of Cards. There will be moral and ethical questions raised when it comes to robotics in the field of work and warfare. Although we are not quite there yet, we should be prepared for questions and the not so positive outcomes that will be raised.

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