5/5 (2)

In the past decades, the internet of things, better known as IoT has developed rapidly. Since its first introduction in 1999 (Vision of Humanity, n.d.), the IoT market has reached a value of 478.36 billion dollars in 2022 and is expected to grow to 2465.26 billion dollars in 2029 (Fortune Business Insights, 2022). In a nutshell, IoT could be described as a network of connected devices and people (Clark, 2016). This connectivity brings multiple benefits, such as reducing waste, reducing fraud-related costs and increasing customer trust (Brous, et al., 2020). An example of how IoT could contribute to reducing waste is the smart thermostat (Bigirimana, 2018). With the smart thermostat, users can put the heating off through an app on their phone when they leave the house and put it on again when they are heading home.

However, this trend does not only bring benefits to its customers, there are also certain risks involved (Javaid, 2020). One of the risks is that not all the products are well protected against hackers (Wheelus, 2020). With the growing trend of IoT, the risks grow exponential (Deloitte, n.d.). But how bad is it to be hacked? This depends on the user, but it could lead to serious damage. Imagen, you have connected most of your security devices with your keys, to increase the convenience of opening and locking your home. However, the moment someone hacks your garage key, that person has also the chance to get into your alarm system (Deloitte, n.d.). Another vulnerable product related to IoT is the automotive car. Hackers were able to hack 1.4 million cars through the infotainment system of the Jeep Cherokee (Beale & Berris, n.d.). According to Beale and Berris (n.d.), hackers can even bring it to another level by hacking aeroplanes through USB ports at an airline seat.

All with all there can be concluded that IoT brings multiple benefits, but that those benefits are not without risks. The answer to the question: “Is the internet of things good or bad?” depends on who you ask the question. However, everyone who is using those products must be aware of the risks.

Beale, S. S. & Berris, P., n.d. Hacking the internet of things: vulnerabilities, dangers, and legal responses, s.l.: s.n.

Bigirimana, S., 2018. Managing Waste through the Internet of Things (IoT), Zimbabwe: Africa University.

Brous, P., Janssen, M. & Herder, P., 2020. The dual effects of the Internet of Things (IoT): A systematic review of the benefits and risks of IoT adoption by organizations. International Journal of Information Management, April, p. 3&4.

Clark, J., 2016. What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ibm.com/blogs/internet-of-things/what-is-the-iot/
[Accessed 23 October 2022].

Deloitte, n.d. Cyber risk in an Internet of Things world. [Online]
Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/cyber-risk-in-an-internet-of-things-world-emerging-trends.html
[Accessed 24 October 2022].

Fortune Business Insights, 2022. With 26.4% CAGR, Internet of Things (IoT) Market Worth USD 2465.26 Billion by 2029. [Online]
Available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/08/03/2491076/0/en/With-26-4-CAGR-Internet-of-Things-IoT-Market-Worth-USD-2465-26-Billion-by-2029.html#:~:text=Fortune%20Business%20Insights%E2%84%A2%20has,USD%20384.70%20billion%20in%202021.
[Accessed 23 October 2022].

Javaid, A., 2020. The Implications of IoT, Risks and Opportunities. [Online]
Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/implications-iot-risks-opportunities-ahmad-javaid-cisa-crisc/
[Accessed 25 October 2022].

Vision of Humanity, n.d. IoT Technologies Explained: History, Examples, Risks & Future. [Online]
Available at: https://www.visionofhumanity.org/what-is-the-internet-of-things/#:~:text=The%20term%20’Internet%20of%20Things,them%20through%20a%20supply%20chain.
[Accessed 24 October 2022].

Wheelus, C., 2020. IoT Network Security: Threats, Risks, and a Data-Driven Defense Framework, s.l.: Research Gate.

5/5 (2)

Within the last few years, Ai has become an essential part of our daily life. A lot of our daily life activities have been more and more automated in the past decades (Western Governors University, 2022). Most people are already used to the idea of automatization and the fact that companies are collecting data from their customers. Nevertheless, the moment that our privacy is at risk, society realizes again how much power AI and Big Data have (Bruinsma, 2017). 

An example of this matter is the OV year card in the Netherlands. Since the introduction of the OV card, most users have seen its benefits. However, in 2017 research showed that the NS was able to track its customers through the OV card (Bruinsma, 2017) and people were, to say it mildly, not amused. Based on the article and the reaction of the NS, it seems that society is unwilling to hand in some parts of their privacy. However, data could be seen as the lifeline of AI (Wijn, 2020). Multiple data scientists use the credo “Garbage in, Garbage out”. In other words, bad data leads to bad AI (Hillman, 2022). Therefore, to provide the best possible solutions through AI, it is important to have the best possible data. However, to protect customer’s privacy, governments have introduced new regulations to protect the data and personal information of people (Pentland & Rahnama, 2022). According to Forbes, these regulations do not make it impossible to get the most out of the data, but it does make it more difficult (Schrock, 2018). In a way this makes sense, to secure privacy, parts of the data have been left outside which impacts the original data.

All in all, it is time to realize that AI has the capability to provide outstanding results, but that the privacy of people in this society is just more important. This does not have to be a bad thing, but it has to be straightened out that the concept of AI is working fine. Other aspects, such as privacy regulations make it just more difficult to meet all expectations. Maybe it is time to realize that society can’t have both and have to choose between, the best possible AI or the best possible privacy regulations.

Bruinsma, G., 2017. ‘Privacy wordt geschonden door OV-chipkaart met abonnement’. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ad.nl/economie/privacy-wordt-geschonden-door-ov-chipkaart-met-abonnement~a4405fa0/

Hillman, J., 2022. Data quality and AI safety: 4 ways bad data affects AI and how to avoid it. [Online]
Available at: https://www.prolific.co/blog/data-quality-and-ai-safety

Pentland , S. & Rahnama, H., 2022. The New Rules of Data Privacy. [Online]
Available at: https://hbr.org/2022/02/the-new-rules-of-data-privacy

Schrock, E., 2018. Regulations Won’t Kill AI – Bad Data Will. [Online]
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/09/04/regulations-wont-kill-ai-bad-data-will/?sh=1eb64e043405

Western Governors University, 2022. All the Benefits of Artificial Intelligence. [Online]
Available at: https://www.wgu.edu/blog/benefits-artificial-intelligence2204.html#close

Wijn, M., 2020. Waarom Artificial Intelligence nergens is zonder data intelligence. [Online]
Available at: https://news.sap.com/netherlands/2020/01/waarom-artificial-intelligence-zonder-data-intelligence-niets-is/