Jens Dyvik: Who builds the internet of things?

During the IoT conference last month in Brussels, I noticed a general confidence in the possibility to shape the Internet of Things into whatever form we see most fit. But I am asking myself how much of this power is real and how much is imagined by the different participants in the universe of IoT. The European commission has power to restrain by rules and to nurture by subsidies. And corporations have a choice in product, service and presentation. Consumers have an influence by choice in purchases.


A complex paradigm as the IoT leads to widely very varied perceptions of what it really is. In a way a persons vision of the internet of things becomes a self reflection. People see the new services and opportunities they would like to have, or the kind of big brother doom scenarios that they are the most afraid of.


So if our perceptions of the IoT have the same diversity as our personalities, how can we expect the IoT to become what we want it be? Won't all the demands, hopes, rules and restrictions lead to one blurry mass in constant transition? If this is true, I ask myself if it might be valuable to acknowledge that IoT will remain an evasive and vague concept, and keep that in mind when we plan our individual contributions to the system. Or should we continue on our constricted paths and hope that one day the IoT will become our Internet of Things?

I think the most important question should be in what genuine way can the IoT truly improve peoples lives? With genuine improvements I mean more than simply making daily chores easier and faster. How can we create feelings of social security, belonging and assist people in living their lives close to their hearts?

If we look at the avarage amount of hours we spend on media consumption in the western world, I think it is clear that time is really no an issue. We don't need faster shopping so we can spend more time on Youtube.

We need to start enjoying our shopping.

The challenge is not to finish the bad parts of life quickly, so we can have more of the good stuff. But to manage to enjoy all parts of our day. Could we become better at enjoying the journey itself, and not only the destination?

The question then is how the hell can a mountain of sensors, tags and networks help us with such a challenge? I think that a good start would be to take a step back and look at our deeper needs and motivations.