The Internet of Things is here, with companies anticipating that they will sell millions of devices into our homes, companies, cars and bodies. On the one hand, adoption of new devices promises to enhance our lives. On the other, we know that increasing the scale and complexity of IT systems isn't going to make failure and vulnerability and less likely, or make support any easier. This somewhat dystopian talk will highlight some of the concerns, especially around the problems of cascading risks in systems which are so intimately coupled digitally, physically and socially, in the face of increasing automation. It will also introduce the recently launched IoT research hub called Petras - Privacy, Ethics, Trust, Reliability, Acceptability, and Security for the Internet of Things.

The way that we live, work and travel is changing, driven by astonishing advances in digital technology; both through the emergence of large-scale, sophisticated tools such as Big Data, the Internet of Things and predictive analytics, and through the increasing ubiquity and power of consumer technologies such as SmartPhones and social media. At the same time, global population growth and climate change create a now urgent need to deliver public services and infrastructure in new ways, and to transition to a more sustainable, resilient economy.

As a consequence, around the country and internationally, new business models and services are emerging that harness the power of technology and the enterprise of the private sector in a way that aligns profitability with community outcomes. In this talk I’ll give some examples of the exciting projects that are emerging as a consequence, and explore how they’re shaping the future world that we’ll live in.

When all 100 light-equipped drones danced and painted 3D shapes and messages in sky above Flugplatz Ahrenlohe, Tornesch, near Hamburg, Germany in early November, a new record was born.In a performance showcased by a promotional film for the world-famous chip maker, 100 spaxels took to the sky simultaneously.

The rapid growth of internet-connected devices has brought huge advantages, however the same technology has also disconnected us. We are drowning in a digital deluge where the haze of information and devices vie for our attention to the point where they are beginning to remove us from the real world. Business leaders, meanwhile, worry that they might miss the next big technology trend and fail to realise the true potential of the big data wave.