Infographics: The Internet of Things and Our Mobile Future, Lessons from the Matrix

By the time you finish reading this infographic, there will be 3,810 new devices connected to the Internet of Things.

That’s because there are 328 million devices being connected to the internet each month. It’s also why researchers estimate that there are going to be 50 billion devices connected by 2020.

In fact, the future looks very different as we adopt to these technological trends. Already, 71% of Americans using wearable technology claim that it has improved their overall health and fitness. Imagine what will happen with more immersive analytics, a preventative mindset, more metrics of useful health functions, and integration into the health system.

The connected lifestyle means that there could be 500 devices in each home connected to the web by 2022. Every lightbulb, lock, thermostat, appliance, and item with an electronic circuit could be networked together, finding synergy. As strange as it may seem, by 2020 researchers even expect 100 million lightbulbs and lamps to be connected to this grid.

Entertainment and convenience are driving the “smart home” concept, which is expected to be worth $56 billion in 2018. However, there is also the benefit of creating a more energy efficient world. It’s already expected that street lamps could save energy costs up to 80%, so why can’t that be the case in the home as well? Self-adjusting thermostats, lights, and appliances will increase the efficiency of homes to make a big impact on net efficiency.

Make no mistake: the Internet of Things is just Big Brother in a more appealing disguise.

Even so, I’m not suggesting we all become Luddites. However, we need to be aware of how quickly a helpful device that makes our lives easier can become a harmful weapon that enslaves us.

This was the underlying lesson of The Matrix, the Wachowski brothers’ futuristic thriller about human beings enslaved by autonomous technological beings that call the shots. As Morpheus, one of the characters in The Matrix, explains:

The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

“What truth?” asks Neo.

Morpheus leans in closer to Neo: “That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison for your mind.”