Thingamajig Internet: Internet of Things in a Connected World

Internet of Things or connected devices and objects, reports the Economic Times, from sharks in the ocean to smart refrigerators to inhalers that are provided with sensors to transfer data over a network, may be the next big business idea. According to McKinsey Global Institute, the Internet of Things (IOT) revolution has the potential to create economic impact of anywhere between $2.7 - 6.2 trillion annually by 2025 as the number of connected devices is expected to increase dramatically to anywhere between 50 billion to 1 trillion devices. There are several smart devices from refrigerators, cars to medical devices that help in collecting data or to control their operations via the Internet.

With everything being connected can anything be unconnected? All the data from all the devices will be available to whom?

Digital Asian

Leaving Behind your Intellectual Real Estate in your Will

With the online virtual world gaining business dominance and value, its time to start thinking about leaving your intellectual property or digital property behind in your will. Any blogs, social media accounts, emails etc., that you may have could be left to your legal heirs in your will or else they could in theory be taken under intestacy laws just as real estate is. Death needn't mean your digital demise. Its time to think about treating your digital footprint as your digital assets.

DigitalAsian

ALGORITHM APPOINTED TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS: DO ALGORITHMS GET SHARE OPTIONS?

BBC News reports that a venture capital firm has appointed a computer algorithm to its board of directors. The program, called Vital, will vote on whether to invest in a specific company or not. The firm it will be working for, Deep Knowledge Ventures, focuses on drugs for age-related diseases. It said that Vital would make its recommendations by sifting through large amounts of data. The algorithm looks at a range of data when making decisions - including financial information, clinical trials for particular drugs, intellectual property owned by the firm and previous funding. "On first sight, it looks like a futuristic idea but on reflection it is really a little bit of publicity hype," said Prof Noel Sharkey of the University of Sheffield. "A lot of companies use large data search to access what is happening on the market, then the board or trusted workers can decide on the advice. 

Human element is truly being eliminated from business decisions. I wonder if the algorithm will get share options or a bonus?

Digital Asian

Forget Me Not: A Google Takedown: A Tryst with Technology

BBC News reports that Google has received fresh takedown requests after a European court ruled that an individual could force it to remove "irrelevant and outdated" search results. An ex-politician seeking re-election has asked to have links to an article about his behaviour in office removed. And a doctor wants negative reviews from patients removed from the results. Google itself has not commented on the so-called right-to-be-forgotten ruling since it described the the European Court of Justice judgement as being "disappointing". Nor has it released any figures about the number of take-down requests received since Tuesday. The original case was brought by a Spanish man who complained that an auction notice of his repossessed home on Google's search results had infringed his privacy. EU Commissioner Viviane Reding said the decision was "a clear victory for the protection of personal data of Europeans" but others are concerned about the consequences that it will have for search engines and others.

Clearly people have right to privacy but this ruling could lead to people and organisations trying to manipulate search results. Could search engines now be at the mercy of individuals for once?

Digital Asian