let’s go on to organize

Ten years ago I wrote a series of posts for Cisco on the topic of ‘The Internet of Everything’ (IoE), which was a variation on the Internet of Things, or the idea that all objects, such as light-bulbs and refrigerators, would be connected to the internet. With AI in everything now, I guess we are at that stage of technology intrusion, or rather techno-monopolist intrusion.

I would like to review some of the highlights from a decade ago.

tl;dr — little has changed

The IoE is about the intersection of people, processes, data, and things. Personal knowledge mastery (PKM) is a framework for making sense of data, information, and knowledge flows. Processes, data, and things are relatively easy to control, but people are complex adaptive systems in their own right. How can people be part of the IoE but not be overly controlled by the other three dimensions? What new skills will be needed to master the internet of everything? —Mastering the Internet of Everything

Data literacy could be seen as part of a new network era fluency — individuals and communities contributing to global networks that influence various aspects of their lives. For individuals, the core skill is critical thinking, or questioning all assumptions, including one’s own. People can learn through their various communities and develop better social literacy. Data literacy is improved by connecting to a diversity of networks. Mass network era fluency can ensure that networks remain social, diverse, and reflect many communities. This kind of fluency, by the majority of people, will be needed as people are outnumbered by devices on the Internet. People cannot deal with the arising complexity of the Internet of Everything unless they can knowledgeably talk about it. This requires fluency by an educated and informed citizenry. —People and the Wild Internet of Everything

Creativity will be needed on a large scale. The key to creativity is diversity – of opinion and options. Human systems thrive on variety and an Internet of Everything will give us more potential connections. It will bridge global and local. Connected people can socially create knowledge and most importantly, coordinate action together. This is the incredible potential of the ‘people’ aspect of the Internet of Everything – human connections that scale. To realize this potential, everyone has to be connected. Not just processes. Not just data. Not just things.

The Internet of Everything will be empty if it is not the Internet of Everyone. —The Internet of Everyone

In the next great industrial revolution will be data-driven, the major premise is that data factories are “changing the nature of work by allowing freelancers to market their services to an increasingly large audience.” The danger of course is that a few companies will have control of these data factories and freelancers will become the product. As they say with social media, if you are not paying for the service, then you are the product. It seems the IoE may increase the speed of automation, making more human jobs obsolete, as data become a capital resource. Will data factories become the new breed of middle-men while freelancers lose control? This could be a growing area of social and economic tension in the near future. —Owning Our Data

For me, the Internet of Everything means more changes in how we work as well as the need for better educational models than courses and institutions to meet our learning needs in keeping up with a more complex hyper-connected world. —What does the Internet of Everything Mean to You?

Internet of Everything or Generative AI — these are not that different. People are taken out of the equation and profits are maximized by the platform/algorithm owners. The only way to address these forces is through collective human creativity. Let’s stay in touch and go on to organize.

Frits Ahlefeldt @ HikingArtist.com