My PhD is working with stuff connected together and in my research I am obviously seeing IoT and IoE in the literature; so, what do think it should actually be called? IoT or IoE?
Yes, it takes time for technology to be adopted by the masses because I would argue, humans are naturally skeptical and annoyed by change. There will always be a group of early adopters that have the opposite nature, that is, they are not skeptical and they embrace change.
To be widely adopted I suggest a new technology has to serve a human need and serve it better than existing technology. With the Internet of Things I think there will be many new solutions offered that do not meet the criteria of serving a human need better than existing technology.
For example, Samsung wants us to buy the Family Hub Refrigerator that has a camera inside so we can look to see what we have in stock while we are out shopping. The existing technology that addresses this problem is a pad of paper and a pen that a shopper uses to make a list. The proposed IoT technology from Samsung is a) way more expensive than a pad of paper and a pen, and b) is not really a solution to an existing problem, but more of a solution looking for a problem. Every time I see the commercial for this fridge I can't help but wonder if the technology is designed to actually make life better, or, more plausibly, is the technology designed to appeal to our tendency to defend poor organizational habits.
People have always been sceptic of letting technology into their lives. It takes over a decade from the time the technology is developed to the time it infiltrates the market. When the car was invented people didn't want to sit in that metallic box they were happy with their horses and chariots, but now in 2016 the scenario isn't the same.
The economics and the purveyors, as you call them, do play part into mass manufactured products. But, we can't stop them.
Not everything is being connected to the internet ( at least not currently), terminology might change after a decade.
I hope we never get to the point where everything is connected to the internet.
If there is a compelling argument to connect everything to the internet, now or in the future, I am willing to hear it. To be compelling, the argument for connecting everything would have to illustrate clearly how doing so would benefit humanity, and not just the purveyors of technology that connect things to the internet.
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