An Ignoble Experiment

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I sat in on an interesting panel Wednesday morning at the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium being held in Cambridge, Mass., involving four MIT professors sharing their insights on the economic impact of connected smart machines.

The burgeoning Internet of Things is part of what Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee call the Second Machine Age, with the Industrial Revolution being the first. Their hypothesis is that interconnected smart machines will lead to dramatic growth in the global economy.

What distinguishes this machine age from the last is the dominance of the machines in the process. In this second age, machines are making decisions.

"We are beginning to talk to our machines and expect them to understand us. When I was growing up, that was science fiction, that was something Captain Kirk did," Brynjolfsson tells the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium.

Machines "are not that good at understanding us. But we are at the cusp of a 10-year period when we are going from machines not being able to understand what we are saying to machines routinely understanding our spoken language and carrying out our instructions," Brynjolfsson relates.

"Machines are doing legal analysis; they are answering questions in call centers... There are machines that do medical diagnosis," he says.

John Leonard says that autonomous vehicles are making great strides, particularly Google's efforts. "The challenge in driving is dealing with the unexpected, processing this huge stream of many sources of information," he explains. "Google is using detailed maps to predict some of the expected things that might happen and they can learn from the behavior of pedestrians and cyclist," he relates.

While this technology might revolutionize transportation, it could also lead to a "huge shift" in employment, Leonard cautions. Autonomous vehicles that can function effectively in cities could put truck drivers and taxi drivers out of jobs, he adds.

Alex (Sandy) Pentland cautions that the machine revolution presents legal issues. "The problem is the way law has been written…with human judgment. But human judgment is disappearing as everything becomes 'datafied'. We have to find a different way of dealing with the law and consensus of people as we bring this new technology to market," Pentland notes.

One solution for better human-machine interaction is to build computers that are better at social intelligence--a term that refers to the ability to negotiate complex social relationships and environments--explains Thomas Malone.

Malone studied groups to assesses collective intelligence and found that groups with members displaying higher social intelligence also had higher collective intelligence.

These MIT professors' ideas are intriguing, particularly as it relates to the impact of connected smart machines on enterprises and the broader economy. Certainly, the economic impact of connected smart machines will be far reaching. Companies that seize the opportunity now will reap significant rewards in the future. - Fred

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Today's Top Stories

1. Google buys Divide to conquer Apple in the enterprise

By Fred Donovan

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Google's acquisition of cloud-based mobile device management startup Divide is seen as a move by the search giant to translate Android's popularity in the consumer market into uptake in the enterprise market, particularly for BYOD environments.

Currently, devices running Apple's iOS are preferred by IT managers when it comes to BYOD, notes Chris Jones, principal analyst at Canalys. iOS is much easier to set up and more secure than Android, Jones tells The Wall Street Journal. In addition, Apple vets all apps before they get onto the App Store, significantly reducing the threat that iOS devices will download malware.

Android reputation for being a fragmented and insecure operating system has definitely hurt its penetration of the enterprise market. As part of Google, Divide will give Android a more secure and manageable face for CIOs and IT departments considering or implementing BYOD programs.

Manufacturers of Android handsets, particularly Samsung, have tried to offer enterprises secure mobility management platforms to ease security concerns. For example, Samsung's Knox platform comes with a National Security Agency-developed security system, including a containerized solution that separates personal from corporate data.

With the Divide acquisition, Google will no longer have to rely on individual manufacturers to increase Android acceptance in the enterprise.

Jack Gold, founder and principal analyst with J. Gold Associates, tells FierceMobileIT that Divide provides "basically a container" that separates corporate from personal data on the mobile device.

"If Google takes Divide and puts it in the [Android] OS, where it really belongs, then it will be universal and the manufacturers won't have to do something unique," he adds.

Jones agrees. Buying Divide "will help Google build security and control into the Android operating system. This is a smart move and probably something Google should have done earlier," he says.

Amit Chowdhry, a tech writer and Forbes contributor, opines that Divide will now "focus on making Android devices more enterprise-friendly. Divide sets up an encrypted workspace so users do not have to worry about privacy or about the company wiping the device."

Chowdhry notes that Google was already an investor in Divide, formerly known as Enterproid and founded by Morgan Stanley execs David Zhu, Alexander Trewby and Andrew Toy.

For more:
- check out Divide's blog
- read the Journal article
- see Chowdhry's column

2. A short history of wearables

By Fred Donovan

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Wearable devices are all the rage today. They range from Bluetooth headsets and health and activity trackers to Google Glass that brings the digital age right before your eyes.

Some can work on their own, while others require a smartphone for the computing power to work. And, of course, everyone is wondering how and when wearables will flood into the corporate environment the way smartphones and tablets have.

We at FierceMobileIT have put together a short history of wearable devices to help you understand where they have come from and where they are going. Some devices, such as Google Glass, could revolutionize the way we live and work--if Glass is even allowed into the workplace and public places.

In a timeline of wearable devices, we could go all the way back to 1762 when John Harrison invented the pocket watch. But we've decided to start in 1975 when Hamilton Watch introduced the Pulsar calculator watch and set the men's accessories world a flutter. Even then-President Gerald Ford wanted one!

1975: Hamilton Watch introduces a Pulsar calculator watch.

1977: CC Collins develops wearable unit for the blind with a head-mounted camera that converts images into a tactile grid on a vest.

1979: Sony introduces the Walkman, a commercially available wearable cassette player.

1981: Steve Mann designs a backpack-mounted computer with text, graphics and multimedia capabilities and a helmet-mounted display.

1984: Casio creates Casio Databank CD-40, one of the first digital watch to store information.

1989: Reflection Technology develops Private Eye head-mounted display.
-- Magellan unveils for consumer hand-held GPS device.

1990: Olivetti unveils a name badge that transmits a unique ID to infrared receivers placed in buildings to track a person's location.

1993: Columbia University researchers develop the KARMA augmented reality system, which includes a Private Eye head-mounted display and overlay wireframe schematics with instructions on how to make repairs.

1994: University of Toronto researchers develop a wrist computer with a keyboard and display strapped to the forearm.
-- Steve Mann develops a wearable wireless webcam for "lifelogging."

1998: Trekker, based on Mann's work, is released for commercial purchase for a $10,000.

1999: Research in Motion (now BlackBerry) launches its first product, the RIM 850 two-way pager.

2000: The first Bluetooth headset is shipped.

2006: Nike teams with Apple to develop a wearable device the records the distance and pace of a walk or run through a show sensor and an iPod nano attached to the arm. Retails for $20.

2008: Fitbit releases its first health and fitness device, which is designed to be clipped onto clothing and track steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, activity intensity and sleep. Retails for $99.
-- Looxie unveils a wearable camera that fits over the ear and records up to 10 hour of video per day. Retails for $200.

2010: Brother markets AiRScouter, a heads-up display that projects the equivalent of a 14-inch screen that appears about three feet in front of the user.
-- Eurotech Group develops Zypad, is a small touch-screen computer that can be strap around the wrist.

2011: Jawbone unveils UP, a health-tracking bracelet that tracks sleep, movement and food consumption and links to a smartphone app. Retails for $130.

2012: Sony markets SmartWatch, which uses Bluetooth to connect to an Android smartphone. Retails for $150
-- Pebble launches its Pebble Watch, which provides health and fitness tracking, internet access, voice navigation and, oh yes, the time using Bluetooth connectivity and a smartphone app. Retails for $250.

2013: Google unveils the beta version of Google Glass to a select group of users known as Explorers. Google Glass is an optical head-mounted display attacked to pair of glasses that is controlled by the user's voice. It connects to the internet using Wi-Fi.
-- Samsung, the largest maker of Android smartphones, launches Galaxy Gear, a smartwatch that uses Bluetooth to connect to an Android smartphone.
-- Japanese auto maker Nissan unveils the Nismo smartwatch, which provides drivers with real-time information such as average speed of the vehicle, fuel consumption and the driver's heart rate. Retails for $120.
-- Misfit unveils Shine, a physical activity monitor that can be worn underwater.

2014: Rumors circulate about the coming of Apple's iWatch, a smartwatch that would connect to the Internet using Wi-Fi.

Read more about: Google Glass
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3. 5 hot apps: Swarm-ing to local hot spots; Outsourcing your line waiting; more

By Robert Bartley

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