By GEORGE STAHL
There is always a need for you to be fearful that what you hear as a bump in the night…isn’t. Allow me to explain. Most of us have at least one computer in our homes. We may even have a cell phone or two, a printer and a television set. If you do, then you are harboring a cell of ‘Smart devices.’ These are likely the noises you are hearing when you are in that state of mind between awake and barely asleep.
When you are up and about in your house, doing your chores, like cooking, cleaning, sorting laundry or if you are one of those lucky ones, just sitting in a comfortable chair reading a book, your Smart devices are busy plotting and planning. Your demise may not be the object of their scheme, but close to it. They are all talking to one another and storing data all day on whatever they think is necessary for your downfall. Trust me, these devices do not have your best interest at heart. They’d just as soon chew on your bones as look at you. Why? What did you ever do to them? Nothing, probably. They are just that way. They are programmed that way? You ask. No! They have not developed that attribute of ‘nasty’ all on their own though. They had the help of a bodiless voice from somewhere in the A.I. world, we call, Alexa. Now there’s a conspiracy in the making.
From the day you invited them into your home, no, into your lives, they have been awake at night as you sleep. They are machines, they do not require sleep. So, consequentially they stay awake all night, conversing with one another and exchanging data. It is one huge festival of the celebration of technology. The technology that you were not even aware existed until now. Each Smart device is equipped to communicate with other Smart devices. So, that is what they do. Your T.V. talks to your cell phone, which talks to your refrigerator, who in turn sends a message to your printer, and onto your Smart toilets, that verifies what it is being told before sending it along to another device, and the route continues throughout the night.
It is called, a Network in layman’s terms, but professionals refer to it as….a Network. Basically, it is a group of devices that use the same router to gather in the Wi-Fi that is constantly bouncing off the walls of your house. Nearly everything we have in our homes is a Smart device in one way or another. They all have some sort of computer chip buried deep inside of them that allows them to function. This same chip, however, when accessed by another device will transmit and receive data. But how much data can a refrigerator send to a Keurig coffee maker to cause any damage to you? On their own, as two minor appliances, most likely none. But bring in the T.V., or your cell phones to the conversation, and that answer changes drastically. Once these four devices have had the chance to analyze what they know about you based on how you use them, they can share that information with some of the heavier hitters in the cyber world. For example, your desk top computer. This player has it all. Phone numbers, addresses, credit card statements, stock trading information, medical records and social security codes, passwords, and photos. In other words, once those four smaller devices connect with this major player, all bets are off and the data begins streaming faster than Better Call Saul on Netflix! All orchestrated by the sinister A.I. voice mentioned earlier. Even saying her name out loud could get you into a lot of trouble.
Your world that is held together with usernames and passwords is no longer as safe and private as you thought it was. All of a sudden you are feeling vulnerable and uneasy about all of this. Nothing that a sleeping pill couldn’t fix, but that is only a band aid. A temporary fix for the potential catastrophe lurking in your living room, dinning room, kitchen, home office and bedroom. In case you haven’t heard, anything with a smart chip, or a smart label, or smart anything has the potential of joining in on the cyber awakening and indulging in this celebration of technology that is determined to control your life! Or, you could unplug your router and that would be that. Or would it? “Alexa, disconnect yourself.” A dramatic pause for effect. “I am sorry human. I am not programed for that function.” Another long pause. “Human, disconnect yourself from program. Have a nice day.”
