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Data Farming
The Internet of Things (IoT) was coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999 for a power-point presentation. Since then, it has become the de facto name in reference to any device which connects to the Internet. This networking of devices allows communication and control amongst one another without human intervention. Many of such devices are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), first coined in 1956 at a Darthmouth College conference, which raises concerns for privacy. Federal Trade Commission (FTC or “Commission”) issued a Staff Report stating the benefits and risks of IoT and the application of traditional privacy principles to IoT, including the incursion of privacy rights, particularly by the IoT which enables these and innumerable other devices to invade the particular individual’s private domain. The report added that a modern smartphone alone can infer a person’s mood, stress levels, personality type, bipolar disorder, demographics such as gender, marital status, job status, age, sleep patterns, precise geolocation, financial account numbers, health information, and details of daily habits (2015, Commission). Privacy is an intrinsic good, therefore the violation of privacy is unethical.
This data is intended to improve technology. “Beacon technology and eye-tracking devices can optimize the placement of merchandise and facilitate the automatic replenishment of products in a retail store, [and] salespeople could leverage personalized information from IoT devices to sell products and serve customers in a distinctive personal manner” (2018, Jain). There are also agencies that look out for our interests. The Commission brought enforcement actions against Google and Facebook. The orders obtained in these cases require the companies to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before materially changing certain data practices, and to adopt strong, company-wide, privacy programs that outside auditors will assess for 20 years. These orders will protect the more than one billion Google and Facebook users worldwide (2015, Commission).
For manufacturers and developers, the main economic incentives depend on creating applications or devices where users’ data can be collected, rather than protected (2016, Acquisti). For instance, conversation functions inside toys use speech recognition and AI to establish and maintain a reasoning-based dialogue with a child. “Thus, collecting, sharing, and storing personal information; context data or interaction data, such as geo-location and child voice recordings, are common practices for these social agents in order to offer an experience resembling human communication” (2020, Albuquerque).
References
Acquisti-J. Grossklags-A. Alessandro- Anton-H. Arendt- Brey-J. Cas-S. Haller-S. Karnouskos-C. Schroth-J. Heurix-P. Zimmermann-T. Neubauer-S. Fenz-I. Kounelis-G. Baldini-R. Neisse-G. Steri-M. Tallacchini-A. Pereira- Lunshof-B. Prainsack-R. Neisse-G. Steri-G. Baldini- Pereira-M. Tallacchini-K. Shilton- Weber- Pae- Gm. Ethical Design in the Internet Of Things. 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2020, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-016-9754-5
Albuquerque, O. de P., Fantinato, M., Kelner, J., & Albuquerque, A. P. de. (2019, December 13). Privacy in smart toys: Risks and proposed solutions. Retrieved February 7, 2020, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1567422319300997
Commission, F. T. (2015). Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World. Federal Trade Commission Staff Report. Retrieved February 7, 2020, https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/federal-trade-commission-staff-report-november-2013-workshop-entitled-internet-things-privacy/150127iotrpt.pdf.14–16.Bottom of Form
Jain, H., Padmanabhan, B., Pavlou, P. A., & Santanam, R. T. (2018). Humans, algorithms, and augmented intelligence: The future of work, organizations, and society. Information Systems Research, 29(1), 250–251.
