The internet has become so much a part of our everyday existence that it’s difficult to imagine what it would be like to live without it. Yet in Davos at the World Economic Forum, Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt predicted the demise of the internet.
Of course, he was being a little provocative; the internet isn’t going to disappear, However, his point is valid in that the net is changing in ways that will make it pretty much unrecognisable in a few years’ time.
The Internet of Things
We’re already seeing that internet is no longer just about devices like computers, tablets and smartphones. As the Internet of Things takes off, more and more technology will be online but perhaps without our actually realising it.
We’re already starting to see things such as home heating systems and cookers that can be controlled remotely over the web via a smartphone or PC. However, in the future we’re likely to see more devices that have the intelligence to take decisions and interact with each other.
Smart clothing, for example, will be able to regulate your body temperature and monitor your health. What’s more, it will be able to interact with other devices around it, adjusting the heating and lighting to your taste when you walk into a room, for example. Stepping into a car will automatically select your preferred heating and entertainment settings and position the seat for your comfort.
The Internet of Everything
What Schmidt means when he talks about the internet disappearing is that it will become so fully integrated into all aspects of our lives that we won’t even notice that it’s there. Everything we do will in some way send a signal to the web that will influence the world around us.
We’ll personalise our environment as we move around. This has implications for lots of areas of our lives. In the office, for example, hot-desking becomes much more practical with your personal files stored in the cloud. When shopping, we’ll be automatically guided to products – clothes in our size or groceries we buy regularly. You’ll be able to set your smart trousers so that as your waistline expands they either prompt you to buy a bigger size or to start a diet.
When it comes to web design Glasgow specialists such as media design associates ltd. will need to adapt to the fact that we’ll access information in new ways, with devices like smart glasses or even implants. This means that the way information is presented will have to change.
So although the internet is set to undergo some huge changes, it isn’t going to go away. In fact, if anything it will become an even more important part of our everyday existence. It’s likely to be completely unrecognisable from the internet of today, though. It will essentially become invisible, because almost everything you use and own will be connected, so you’ll be using the internet all the time.