Chris Yapp is a freelance Consultant specialising in innovation and future thinking. He presented a very interesting talk on Pervasive Computing, which sparked significant discussion, which unfortunately had to be curtailed when we had to vacate the lecture hall.
Chris presented the two paradoxes at the heart of the Internet of Things:
- it is here now, but it is also 10 year away
- it is inevitable, but we don’t know what it is!
These issues were put into context by looking at some previous paradigm shifts in technology, and its implications for society. The challenges we face will be both technical and social/commercial, it it is the latter which might delay implementation. To address these issues a multi – and inter-disciplinary – approach will be needed.
He left the audience with an important question:
- How can we accelerate developments that generate real social and economic benefits of innovation, while guarding against downsides that risk a backlash?
