“Ambient intelligence can enable an individual to become more effective and more efficient in their life,” Clark Dodsworth, founder of Osage Consulting and co-author of the original ambient intelligence strategy, told Lifewire over the phone.
Tech That Adapts to You
“Ultimately this means that you’ll reach for your phone a little bit less and you’re talking to Alexa less,” Taylor said during the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon this week. “The limits of human intelligence are when you don’t even notice [technology] anymore,” Domingos said. “It’s just that your environment is more adaptive to you, and you don’t even have to worry about making it adapt yourself.” Despite ambient intelligence being a conceptual idea for 23 years, the race to perfect it and implement it into our daily lives is on. Domingo said it comes down to which tech giant will come out on top first. “I think you’re going to see even more action in this space since this is now a major focus of competition between [tech giants],” he said. “I can’t predict who is going to come out on top of this, but somebody will.”
An Ambient Intelligent Future
The technology to integrate ambient intelligence into our daily lives is almost there, but experts say some things still need to happen to make our world ambient-intelligent. Domingos said the motivation and investment of tech companies to compete in the space are important factors. In addition, Dodsworth said that system designs must become more durable and, in particular, better able to secure personal data. “Intent is so important when it comes to ambient intelligence,” he said. “High data security requires constant vigilance 24/7. As individuals, we can’t risk the path of ambient intelligence without that.” He believes the safest and most secure uses of ambient intelligence technology won’t be in smart home applications, but rather in “hyper-personalized, real-time, context awareness.” “[Wearable devices] could be gathering data about the patterns of where you are, who you’re around, what you do, and your metabolic state that can start to provide value to you. That becomes not ambient intelligence installed around us in the world, but enhanced, portable awareness for you,” he said. “This can lead to enhancing your personal resilience in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world.” Dodsworth also points to a future where awareness is shared among devices. For example, your phone’s awareness could be extended to several blocks away, warning you of safety situations. “Let’s say that in real-time, nearby people’s phones can communicate with yours through Bluetooth and other methods. Your phone and theirs have permission from you to share only certain kinds of data, such as limiting it to unusual or life-threatening situations,” Dodsworth explained. “So, if something life-threatening suddenly happens, like a sinkhole in the street a few blocks away, it would get out quickly to other devices in all directions, enhancing the situational awareness for you and other people you don’t even know.” Although this may all sound high-tech and out of reach, Domingos said the end result of ambient intelligence is well worth it. “You’re happier because you live in a world that makes you more comfortable without the hassle of having to do this all yourself,” he said.
