Information technology for personal safety
There are numerous ways that technology, now or in the future, can significantly improve personal safety. Three of the biggest areas of application are or will be:
- Crime prevention.
- Vehicle accident prevention.
- Medical emergency prevention and response.
Implications will be dramatic for numerous industries and government activities, including but not limited to law enforcement, automotive manufacturing, infrastructure/construction, health care and insurance. Further, these technologies create a near-certainty that individuals’ movements and status will be electronically monitored in fine detail. Hence their development and eventual deployment constitutes a ticking clock toward a deadline for society deciding what to do about personal privacy.
Theoretically, humans aren’t the only potential kind of tyrants. Science fiction author Jack Williamson postulated a depressing nanny-technology in With Folded Hands, the idea for which was later borrowed by the humorous Star Trek episode I, Mudd.
Of these three areas, crime prevention is the furthest along; in particular, sidewalk cameras, license plate cameras and internet snooping are widely deployed around the world. So let’s consider the other two.
Vehicle accident prevention
Suppose every automobile on the road “knew” where all nearby vehicles were, and their speed and direction as well. Then it could also “know” the safest and fastest ways to move you along. You might actively drive, while it advised and warned you; it might be the default “driver”, with you around to override. Inbetween possibilities exist as well.
Frankly, I don’t know how expensive a suitably powerful and rugged transponder for such purposes would be. I also don’t know to what extent the most efficient solutions would involve substantial investment in complementary, stationary equipment. But I imagine the total cost would be relatively small compared to that of automobiles or auto insurance.
Universal deployment of such technology could be straightforward. If the government can issue you license plates, it can issue transponders as well, or compel you to get your own. It would have several strong motivations to do so, including:
- Electronic toll collection — this is already happening in a significant fraction of automobiles around the world.
- Snooping for the purpose of law enforcement.
- Accident prevention.
- (The biggest of all.) Easing the transition to autonomous vehicles.
Insurance companies have their own motivations to support safety-related technology. And the automotive industry has long been aggressive in incorporating microprocessor technology. Putting that all together, I am confident in the prediction: Smart cars are going to happen.
The story goes further yet. Despite improvements in safety technology, accidents will still happen. And the same location-tracking technology used for real-time accident avoidance should provide a massive boost to post-accident forensics, for use in:
- Insurance adjudication (obviously and often),
- Criminal justice (when the accident has criminal implications), and
- Predictive modeling.
The predictive modeling, in turn, could influence (among other areas):
- General automobile design (if a lot of accidents have a common cause, re-engineer to address it).
- Maintenance of specific automobiles (if the car’s motion is abnormal, have it checked out).
- Individual drivers’ insurance rates.
Transportation is going to change a lot.
Medical emergency prevention and response
I both expect and welcome the rise of technology that helps people who can’t reliably take care of themselves (babies, the elderly) to be continually monitored. My father and aunt might each have lived longer if such technology had been available sooner. But while the life-saving emergency response uses will be important enough, emergency avoidance may be an even bigger deal. Much as in my discussion above of cars, the technology could also be used to analyze when an old person is at increasing risk of falls or other incidents. In a world where families live apart but nursing homes are terrible places, this could all be a very important set of developments.
Another area where the monitoring/response/analysis/early-warning cycle could work is cardio-vascular incidents. I imagine we’ll soon have wearable devices that help detect the development or likelihood of various kinds of blockages, and hence forestall cardiovascular emergencies, such as those that often befall seemingly-healthy middle-aged people. Over time, I think those devices will become pretty effective. The large market opportunity should be obvious.
Once life-and-death benefits lead the way, I expect less emergency-focused kinds of fitness monitoring to find receptive consumers as well. (E.g. in the intestinal/nutrition domain.) And so I have another prediction (with an apology to Socrates): The unexamined life will seem too dangerous to continue living.
Related links
- My overview of innovation opportunities ended by saying there was great opportunity in devices. It also offered notes on predictive modeling and so on.
- My survey of technologies around machine-generated data ended by focusing on predictive modeling for problem and anomaly detection and diagnosis, for machines and bodies alike.
- The topics of this post are part of why I’m bullish on machine-generated data growth.
- I think soft robots that also provide practical assistance could become a big part of health-related monitoring.
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[…] Implications will be dramatic for numerous industries and government activities, including but not limited to law enforcement, automotive manufacturing, infrastructure/construction, health care and insurance. Further, these technologies create a near-certainty that individuals’ movements and status will be electronically monitored in fine detail. Hence their development and eventual deployment constitutes a ticking clock toward a deadline for society deciding what to do about personal privacy. Of these three areas, crime prevention is the furthest along; in particular, sidewalk cameras, license plate cameras and internet snooping are widely deployed around the world. So let’s consider the other two. Read full story => DBMS2 […]
Amazing how far you are off your mission you are lately. Running out of companies to pander for a fee? Honestly, start writing real shit on DBs and quit picking on the ones you don’t blackmail for a fee. You are a smart guy and everyone knows your gig…
Earl,
If you don’t like my work, then why do you care what I write about?