*I'd find this Cisco pep talk a bit disturbing if I believed in Artificial Intelligence, but since I don't, I'm pretty sure that this vision of comprehensive genius-machines with global situational awareness is a pipe-dream.
*Still, I'm always interested when a tech-player lays a speculative card on the table. This is kinda Cisco's version of Corning's "Day Made of Glass," where the whole world's made out of touch-sensitive glass because Corning doesn't sell anybody any mud, grass or trees.
https://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/12/the-internet-of-everything-lets-get-this-right/
"A decade ago, when Cisco helped connect millions of devices to the Internet, we proclaimed we were in the midst of an “Internet Revolution.” We were wrong. What we witnessed at the onset of the 21st Century, as remarkable as it was, was merely a prelude. While still in the distance, we are now seeing what the internet is delivering: an age of information and freedom that we could never fathom just 10 short years ago.
"We are rapidly heading into a new era that will not be measured by the number of users, devices, or connections. What is changing the world, profoundly, is the value those connections make possible. When we connected the first 500 million devices to the internet, it seemed to reshape our lives. But now we are on the cusp of a transformation that connects everything to the internet. Highways, buildings, farms, satellites, solar panels, cars, milk cartons, cows…everything.
"Each of these connections brings its own unique value, and the value increases even more with the exponential growth in potential connections between everything. These connections, combined with access to the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, will empower people in ways that we never imagined. Connections between people, between people and context-aware sensors and machines, and between machines themselves will help people turn data into actionable information, resulting in richer experiences and unprecedented value for individuals, businesses, communities and countries. We’re just starting to experience the phenomenon that we call the “Internet of Everything” (or IoE).
"When Apple introduced Siri in 2010, it seemed like a revelation. And soon, it will seem elementary. In the very near future, everyone will have access to artificial intelligence that will connect to all the world’s information. Think about that: In just a few years, through the power of billions of connections accessing the world’s knowledge and everything that is happening in real-time, every person who has access to the Internet could have the world’s smartest advisor at his or her side. That “smart advisor” will give us sophisticated advice; guide us on our travels while all along connecting every facet of our life together.
"We currently live in a world where more than 99 percent of all physical objects are not connected to the network. What happens when a mere 10 percent get connected? What happens when we connect people, process, data and things? That’s hundreds of billions of things talking to each other, behind the scenes, to enrich and facilitate our lives.
"If the notion of the Internet of Everything alarms you a bit, I wouldn’t be surprised...."
