Cookies help us display personalized product recommendations and ensure you have great shopping experience.

By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    image fx (67)
    Improving LinkedIn Ad Strategies with Data Analytics
    9 Min Read
    big data and remote work
    Data Helps Speech-Language Pathologists Deliver Better Results
    6 Min Read
    data driven insights
    How Data-Driven Insights Are Addressing Gaps in Patient Communication and Equity
    8 Min Read
    pexels pavel danilyuk 8112119
    Data Analytics Is Revolutionizing Medical Credentialing
    8 Min Read
    data and seo
    Maximize SEO Success with Powerful Data Analytics Insights
    8 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: We will be monitored, step by step, meal by meal
Share
Notification
Font ResizerAa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Exclusive > We will be monitored, step by step, meal by meal
Exclusive

We will be monitored, step by step, meal by meal

StephenBaker2
StephenBaker2
4 Min Read
SHARE

In the future, as I see it, each one of us will be monitored by dozens of machines. They’ll keep an eye on our heart patterns, our diet, our pathways in the house and on the road. They’ll pick up our cognitive signals too. This surveillance will not come from a governmental Big Brother. We will impose it ourselves. Forgoing surveillance will be regarded as risky behavior, akin to driving without a seat-belt or downing a double martini while pregnant.

In the future, as I see it, each one of us will be monitored by dozens of machines. They’ll keep an eye on our heart patterns, our diet, our pathways in the house and on the road. They’ll pick up our cognitive signals too. This surveillance will not come from a governmental Big Brother. We will impose it ourselves. Forgoing surveillance will be regarded as risky behavior, akin to driving without a seat-belt or downing a double martini while pregnant.

I thought about this a lot while working on the “Patient” chapter of The Numerati. There I looked at Intel’s efforts to build senior care around sensors. In scores of homes in Portland, Intel researchers monitored every possible detail of elderly couples’ lives (with permission, of course). They then developed base lines for a series of behaviors, ranging from diet to typing patterns on the computer. And when their machines spotted deviations in these patterns, they knew something was up. In time, they hope to be able to diagnose oncoming diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimers by studying these patterns.

More Read

machine learning in games
Is Machine Learning The Unspoken Secret To Gaming Success?
Data-Driven Marketing Strategies Will Be the Norm in The Post-Covid Era
Retail is Dead. Long Live Retail!
How Internet Providers Are Using AI and Data Analytics To Help Customers
Blockchain Helps Bitcoin Users Fund New Investments

That’s in the future. For now, much of this machinery simply monitors and issues reminders, including alerts to take prescribed pills at the appropriate time. A New York Times story today describes middle-aged adults who use a host of snooping machinery to keep an eye on aging parents. This technology comes from startups like iReminder to giants like GE.

When I give talks, I often ask people if they would install sensors in their house in exchange for lower health-insurance premiums. Most people say no. But in our aging societies, in which the cost of personal care continues to sky-rocket while the price of computing plummets, there’s little other way for us to take care of each other and ourselves. The way I see it, we’re beginning this trend by imposing monitors on the people we feel responsible for: Our parents and our children.

But the technology will spread to much of the population. As it does, health care data will increasingly reflect our behavior, hour by hour, meal by meal, and not just our symptoms. And as these new streams of data pour in, scientists will be in a position to study the patterns of human health as never before.

No doubt, some people will stick with the old ways. Those outside of the medical establishment–the poor and uninsured–won’t be monitored. And the rich will likely pay a premium for personal service. But the rest of us, the great masses in the middle, will live our lives under the ever sharper scrutiny of machines.

 

TAGGED:health datainsuranceprivacysensors
Share This Article
Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

power supplies for ATX for data scientists
Why Data Scientists Should Care About SFX Power Supplies
Big Data Exclusive
AI for website optimization
Free Tools to Test Website Accessibility
Artificial Intelligence Exclusive
Generative AI models
Thinking Machines At Work: How Generative AI Models Are Redefining Business Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence Business Intelligence Exclusive Infographic Machine Learning
image fx (2)
Monitoring Data Without Turning into Big Brother
Big Data Exclusive

Stay Connected

1.2kFollowersLike
33.7kFollowersFollow
222FollowersPin

You Might also Like

Your Personal Data: Wither Privacy? Take Stephen Baker’s Poll

2 Min Read

Can We Build a Distributed Trust Network?

5 Min Read

Response to German privacy fears

4 Min Read

What’s Next – Predictive Scores for Healthcare?

4 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

AI and chatbots
Chatbots and SEO: How Can Chatbots Improve Your SEO Ranking?
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Exclusive
giveaway chatbots
How To Get An Award Winning Giveaway Bot
Big Data Chatbots Exclusive

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-25 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?