Internet of Things

“We are rapidly heading into a new era that will not be measured by the number of users, devices, or connections. What is changing the world, profoundly, is the value those connections make possible. When we connected the first 500 million devices to the internet, it seemed to reshape our lives. But now we are on the cusp of a transformation that connects everything to the internet. Highways, buildings, farms, satellites, solar panels, cars, milk cartons, cows…everything.” — Wired.com

A meeting behind closed doors to pave the way for all the changes and proposals brought about by the extension of the Internet to outside the screens: this is how on 20 May, several organizations and entities gathered at the Sinel de Cordes Palace for a talk on these topics with a view to possible collaborations, projects and more conversations. Together, in the ballroom, Internet of Things was a meeting between stress.fm, a Osso - Associação Cultural, the Oficinas do Convento, the atelier CADA, LEDs and Chips and altlab, with the participation of Lisbon Architecture Triennale.

The theme of this talk has as its origin the Internet of Things that is, the system of interrelated computer devices, the mechanical and digital machines provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data through a network without the need for interaction from human to human or from human to computer. This permanent and current discussion is a theme explored by many journals, scientists and various personalities, with different approaches and different reflections on it:

“The slight irony of the “Internet of Things” moniker is that things are often connected via M2M (machine to machine) protocols rather than the Internet itself.” — TechCrunch

“They like the slogan “Internet of Things” because it sounds peaceable and progressive. It disguises the epic struggle over power, money and influence that is about to ensue.” — Bruce Sterling 

“Our ability to use the city around us, our flexibility in doing so, just who is able to do so, will be shaped by decisions made about the technical design of objects and their human interfaces, and the precise ways in which such objects are connected to one another and made visible to the network.” — Adam Greenfield