Preparing for life in an ‘Uber-ized’ world

Faculty and community members gathered to discuss life in a connected world this week at a special campus workshop.

The workshop, hosted by the W Booth School of Engineering Practice, focused on the so-called “internet of things,” in which everyday machines are in constant communication with each other.

The day started with a networking breakfast, followed by a series of talks from experts touching on the topic from many angles and concluded with a panel discussion on potential creative solutions to these issues during an afternoon workshop.

Guest speaker Brendan Seaton, president of ITAC Health, spoke to the group about the need to update legislation that was developed in an age before constant connection.

Seaton said technology is evolving exponentially, especially in the health care industry, and that makes it a target for disruptive innovation – a phenomenon he called “Uber-ization.”

Other speakers addressed the privacy issues which have quickly become a concern for those wary of sharing data with government and private companies.

If privacy is embedded into new technologies as they are developed, policy would not have to be formed retroactively to protect users, according to Gail Krantzberg, director of McMaster’s Master of Engineering and Public Policy program.

“We heard today that there is a quantum leap in the growing technological power of the internet of things, and regulatory development is lagging far behind,” said Krantzberg. “Our discussions surrounded a lot of issues around privacy and highlighted the many opportunities for privacy to be embedded into new technologies by design.”