There are many pros and cons that come with connecting physical objects to the Internet. Examples of such physical objects are security cameras, thermostats, cars, vending machines etc. In the article “As Objects Go Online,” the author discussed some benefits of connecting physical objects to the internet such as with health care, “shelves and pill bottles connected to the Internet can alert a forgetful patient when to take a pill, a pharmacist to make a refill, and a doctor when a dose is missed.” Being able to have that opportunity is a step in the direction of solving the mismanagement of medication. This also saves people and businesses money because the electronic objects are communicating with each other which saves energy and in turns produces faster results and helps improves people’s daily routines. They won’t have to worry about spending money to communicate with patients via letter or face-to face, everything will be virtual. A great example of an object that can save the lives of the elderly is Life Alert. It is always being advertised when I watch TV and it looks like a necklace that you can press if you were to get into an accident at home and fall or if you are facing a home invasion as an elderly person live on your own. It is said to have saved lives every 11 minutes.  Another example would also be with buildings and it is beneficial to them because it can help decline the “one-third of three-fourths of all electricity use going to waste” because the building would become smarter and begin to use sensors to improve its organization. In buildings, a lot of energy is wasted because lights, cooling/heating systems are kept on even when people are not in a room. These internet of things can help save all of this wasted energy and put it towards more beneficial uses. However, there are negatives/cons that come with connecting physical objects to the Internet. The two main cons/negatives is that we lose security on privacy and we become over-dependent on technology. In the article “Thermostats, Locks, and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse, there has been ” a new pattern of behavior in domestic abuse cases tied to the rise of smart home technology. Internet-connected locks, speakers, thermostats, lights and cameras that have been marketed as the newest conveniences are now also being used as a means for harassment, monitoring, revenge and control.” This technology has brought some concerns about the safety of many people because their information and data can all be found on smartphone apps and objects in their home. This is dangerous because you don’t know who is out there hacking into your systems and watching you (stalking in serious cases), listening in on your conversations, or messing with the objects in your home to frighten you and cause harm. We have become too dependent on these very technological advancements that we fail to realize that we put our lives in danger every time we connect something of ours to the internet with millions of strangers. Someone can hack into your system and disable your alarms and cameras so when they break into your home, you would never know. Also, the overly dependency is a negative thing because the Internet is not always a guarantee, and if we rely a lot on it, we won’t know how to do anything if it was shut down or having difficulties. Another important point to make is that people will begin to lose their jobs since daily activities will become automated and there will be no need for human workers to do or create anything.

Mariano Montague

QUESTION: Write your responses to the readings and if you think that connecting physical objects to the Internet is beneficial or detrimental?

In my opinion, i think connecting physical objects objects to the internet has been extremely beneficial. In my household i have many things that are connected to the internet. For example my doorbell. Anytime someone comes near my house i get a notification and i am able to see who is there and communicate with them. Its a smart doorbell called ring. Something like this is very beneficial because you can feel very secure at your home without thinking and having the thought that people could break in your house. also in my house i am able to turn on and off the lights in my house with my phone and that’s something that is extra convenient. I feel like a a society we need these kinds of improvements because advancement is something that everyone should want to strive for. Of course there can be some misuse and dangers to this. “Smart home technology can be easily harnessed for misuse for several reasons. Tools like connected in-home security cameras are relatively inexpensive — some retail for $40 — and are straightforward to install. Usually, one person in a relationship takes charge of putting in the technology, knows how it works and has all the passwords. This gives that person the power to turn the technology against the other person.” For this new kind of technology to work you need to understand the factors and know what other people are capable of. This may not be something you want to invest in if you’re in a toxic relationship as it can cause the partner to be domestically abusing. Other than that, physical objects to the internet are the way to go. Recently as a gift, I’ve gotten a chip that you can put in your wallet so encase you lose it, you can track it on your phone. This would saved me a lot of time when i need to look for the wallet in the morning before going to school.

The internet is the source of everything these days, we all rely on the internet in some way or form. People can now work from home or even take classes online, we no longer have to call cab companies we can just order a cab online. We can even order food online, theres no need to call in orders. Connecting objects to the internet makes everything convenient, we can even have our homes connected to the internet. Amazon’s “Alexa” device allows individuals to have voice control over their lights,thermostats , your Television and many more home devices. It is great to be able to control everything from a smart device, say you forget to set the house alarm because you are rushing out the house, you can just arm the alarm from your phone without having to travel all the way back tot he house. Although there are many positive things about having objects connected to the internet there also some negatives, such as these devices can cause people to get lazy, instead of getting off of the couch to turn up the air conditioner you can just control it with your device or even being lazy to grab a remote and change the channel they can just change the channel by speaking out loud to a device like “Alexa”. Having objects connected to the internet could cause some problems with your objects and devices, in the New York Times article “Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse” by Nellie Bowels states , “One woman had turned on her air-conditioner, but said it then switched off without her touching it. Another said the code numbers of the digital lock at her front door changed every day and she could not figure out why. Still another told an abuse help line that she kept hearing the doorbell ring, but no one was there”.Basically these objects connected to the internet have the potential to glitch, questioning whether it is really worth it to rely on the internet for certain things like our home and safety.

With the growth of today’s technology, we see how it is rapidly becoming part of our everyday lifestyle. The technological growth is spreading into many physical things such as watches, tables, speakers and more. But one thing we were never expecting to see turn into something technology related are our physical objects such as our doorbells, thermostats, refrigerator, etc. In the passage, “A Manifesto for Networked Objects: Why Things Matter” by Julian Bleecker it speaks on bloggers which are “participants in a network exchange, disseminating thoughts, opinions, ideas – making culture” through the internet. The idea of blogging has grown tremendously as many may see on youtube. This shows how it is part of what will take over in the technological future. As mentioned in, Neil Gershenfeld and JP Vasseur, As Objects Go Online “The Promise (and Pitfalls) of the Internet of Things” it states how the growth of computers and technology have grown in a significant rate. Technology has been put into our lives for even the most minimal things. Although this may be good in some cases to make our lives easier, there’s also cons that have to come into consideration when it comes to technology being used in so many aspects of our lives. According to  “Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse, ” Nellie Bowles, NY Times, it points out the cons of having a smart home. Victims of domestic abuse are reaching out to the domestic abuse hotline to report their partners who are hacking into various items such as locks, air conditioner, and doorbell.  “Callers have said the abusers were monitoring and controlling them remotely through the smart home appliances and the smart home system,” this shows the dangerous side of the connection between physical objects to the internet. It is risking the safety of its users, and causing problems to their lives.

Blogging has become more than just a regular post online. We have turned animals into “blogjects” to post and track different variables. For example, they mentioned a pigeon which is usually looked as nasty public animals are now attached to GPS devices and blog its location. It has many uses depending on the object and what they are trying to research. We also have everyday objects such as watches, rings, refrigerators, and other household objects that are being linked to Bluetooth and internet connection.

I believe these items all have pros and cons. At many times it can be beneficial, whether it is for research or easier access to regular items. It might help us in many ways. But, it can also be detrimental as it requires more time connected to the internet or tracking our every move. It is also strange that in a way, animals have access to the internet, whether it is by GPS or however they choose to allow animals to blog.

The article connecting smart household items and domestic abuse is alarming. It reminds me of “Smart House”, a movie that came out on Disney in the ’90s. It was computerized and ended up glitching. Having items that can be controlled by your phone can allow hackers and other people to control your items. I would be scared to have items that are digitally controlled. We would no longer have to worry about the house being haunted, just domestic abuse and hackers. Interestingly enough, the connection makes sense because an abuser want’s to make their partner’s life difficult. These smart items would be a great start.

So, overall, they have both pros and cons and can be used to endanger people. But, we can also use it for marketing and research on certain occasions. Somethings are becoming too digitalized and easy to lose control of. Installing cameras and digital locks is a way to allow one homeowner to be watched or terrorized if the password keeps changing. I cannot imagine a life where I have to deal with these issues.

I believe that the internet was intended to be beneficial, but over time it became detrimental. As people started to take the internet for granted, some people started to find ways to hurt people through the internet. Their has been cyberbullying, which has led to people commiting sucide and having laws made up for bullying over the internet. If their was no internet, their wouldn’t have been bullying over the internet. Of course the internet has good qualities, we can check our email over online, instead of waiting for paper mail, which help saves trees. Their are way more good qualities, and if 10 years ago the internet would have been beneficial, and it is still benefical now, but it’s more detrimental than beneficial. In the text,” Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse,” by Nellie Bowles, it says,” In more than 30 interviews with The New York Times, domestic abuse victims, their lawyers, shelter workers and emergency responders described how the technology was becoming an alarming new tool. Abusers — using apps on their smartphones, which are connected to the internet-enabled devices — would remotely control everyday objects in the home, sometimes to watch and listen, other times to scare or show power. Even after a partner had left the home, the devices often stayed and continued to be used to intimidate and confuse…Connected home devices have increasingly cropped up in domestic abuse cases over the past year, according to those working with victims of domestic violence. Those at help lines said more people were calling in the last 12 months about losing control of Wi-Fi-enabled doors, speakers, thermostats, lights and cameras. Lawyers also said they were wrangling with how to add language to restraining orders to cover smart home technology.” As the internet expands, and we start getting smartphones, smart TV’s, and Wi-Fi, they will be more people who will find ways to make the internet, by doing things that they shouldn’t be doing. Instead of abuse happening in person, it is happening on the internet. The things we do on the internet, were not intended for us to use by the creators of the internet. The internet was benefical, but overtime it became detrimental.

There is good and back when it comes to connecting objects to the internet. Today we have smart watches and even a smart home. All of these things are connected to the internet now with a touch of our fingertips we can control our surroundings basically. According As Objects Go Online, “Utilities today provide power and plumbing; these new services would provide safety, comfort, and convenience.” It helps those who are disabled get around with everyday things or one who is away at home look after their things and property.  Another thing it could be is one being lazy to get up to turn on or off the lights, they can just do it through an app on their phone. Although these new technology advances are helping one it is also being a new way of abuse.  According to the Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse article, plenty of woman across America said these technology advances have been used as a form of abuse. One lady said that she had her air condition on next thing she knew that it switched off without her touching it. Plenty of woman have come forward and revealed they had felt they had lost control of their homes. Their abusers hack or gain accesses to their technology and harass them either by looking through the security camera or turning up the speaker to 100.  But if the victim decided to disable or disconnect the device it can cause a big problem since the abuser would be notified that the device is no longer connected to the internet.

Technological advances have redefined most of our lives. The more gadgets that are produced, the more we use them and let them take over our lives. Many of us live attached to our phones and are introducing smart technology into our homes as well. People have apps to open their doors and shut off their lights. The New York Times article, “Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse” by Nellie Bowles, discusses the potential danger of these Internet connected devices. Bowles states, “Internet-connected locks, speakers, thermostats, lights and cameras that have been marketed as the newest conveniences are now also being used as a means for harassment, monitoring, revenge and control”. These devices are supposed to be convenient for us but for some people it can turn into their worst nightmare. I believe they do make life easier but it can lead us to depending on technology for everything, which might not be the best option.

According to the article, “A manifesto for networked objects: why things matter” by Julian Bleecker, we should consider all the possibilities of how the objects around us can interact with us through different software. Bleecker explains his idea about objects that “blog” and its meaning. There are objects that are essentially “blogging” due to technological advances.  For example, “the pigeon that blogs”, is “an early protozoa on the Blogject species evolutionary chain”. This pigeon or flock of pigeons have a GPS device attached to them and with that we can know where it has been flying. This device also has “an environmental sensor that records the levels of toxins and pollutants in the air through which they fly”, so we can use it to detect pollution. Essentially, with this software our pets could begin to blog as well but Bleecker is not promoting the idea that everything around us will blog or that these devices will take over. The article, As objects go online The Promise (and pitfalls) of the Internet of Things, by Neil Gershenfeld and JP Vasseur, state that with advances in circuits and software can lead to a computer sending information to a coffeemaker so it could turn on from your bed. This could lead to major lifestyle changes and it could help us better use our resources and help the world but it can also be detrimental to us. If we keep relying on technology to do simple tasks such as turning off the lights, then we might be on the road to a lazier future.