The Internet of Things

What if your fridge could order milk when you were running low? What if the lights could check your calendar and make an appointment with the electrician to be replaced? What if the devices in your home could “talk” to each other in a way that made your life safer, happier, and more efficient? This is exactly what the Internet of Things aims to do.

First of all, what is the Internet of Things? Basically, it’s a network of all the devices that can connect to the internet. This network allows the devices to communicate with each other and work together online. Many devices already do this to a certain extent; think Google turning on the lights when you come home, or Alexa buying stuff from Amazon. The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a fancy way to say that your “smart” devices have gained language skills, and can now talk to each other.

There are many obvious benefits to this: even if you forget to do some things, the Internet can do them for you. However, as with all technology, there are potential harms. If a hacker gains access to even your toaster, the rest of your security is, well, toast. All jokes aside-- connecting every device in your house means that your security will have a few blind spots. This would be okay if all hackers could do is burn your toast, but if your appliances are connected to, say, a bank account, risks start to accumulate.

In all, the IoT isn’t really good or bad, it just is. The important part is up to us humans to use it for the right purposes and be safe about what we put online. Just like with all technology, the Internet of Things is really cool, as long as you’re smart about it.

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