According to Media & Culture: An introduction to Mass communication, semantic web is about creating a more meaningful—or more organized—web. The software will better our living experience by placing web information into relevant categories like calendars, mutual interests, location, family, friends, neighborhood, etc. in order to make a meaningful connection. Before going any further about what semantic web is all about, you must go beyond the 5ws: Who, What, When, Where and Why to capture the essence of this emerging technology.
Semantic web has transformed the way we live our lives. An example of semantic web at work would be if you are sleeping with an armband which senses your sleep cycles—and furthermore, knowing how to wake you up by vibrating or blinking a light. When this does occur, the armband sends a message to the other gadgets in your home, starting a chain of events (like your bedside lamp turns on, the house’s thermostat goes up to specific degree that cool your room, and your coffeemaker is prepping your coffee.) Finally, you check the result of your sleeping cycle by checking your smart phone. The way computers work in unison is what semantic web is all about. Once a computer “understands” a person, an event, or a place by its own accord, then it assists us through interaction with other gadgets or rather other things. In other words, computers can make significant interpretations just like how humans process information to achieve their goals.
Another example of semantic web at work is what is called Google flu. At one point, Google started to track locations and recurrence of search terms that were related to flu. The result showed that there was a pattern between the search terms and where flu activities were occurring. So, Google built a website (http://www.google.org/flutrends) and it was used by hospital personnel and medical professionals in order to inform on an early detection of the flu, which might prevent it from spreading.
In the past, the internet has been here as the product of people. It was all created by people for people and about people, hence the phrase “internet of people.” The transforming technology has changed the way we lived. Yet, the story doesn’t end there. There is a new wave that’s coming to the internet. This time, it isn’t about connecting people, but about connecting things (gadgets or software connecting actively with other gadgets or software). Things from the internet would be sharing their experience with other things from the internet, hence the name “Internet of things.” The internet of things wouldn’t be possible without the existence of semantic web. Semantic web will transform the consumer market due to the internet becoming a major economic instrument. The public will fully rely on semantic web services while businesses will fully rely on the future of semantic web to provide these services. Businesses like Cisco, General Motors, IBM, Samsung, google, etc. are investing billions of dollars on the future of semantic web. General Electric depicted the future of semantic web with this quirky yet fun advertisement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG2cMVch48k
At first glance, all that semantic web does now, and perhaps in the future, seems wonderous, but there is a serious price. Invasion of privacy is becoming all too common. Devices (such as car’s Bluetooth phone system, iRobot Roomba, thermostat, baby monitor, Fitbit etc.) could easily be hacked. Once a hacker gains access to one of your devices, there is a great possibility that they would gain access to all of your devices, which is the drawback of semantic web. Once they gain control of the anchor device, they could use your devices to do malicious things such as identity theft. Hackers will benefit from semantic web with data trafficking (or network trafficking). Besides hackers, it has been known that internet companies had sold customer’s data without consent.
Violation of personal privacy should be a great concern to everyone when it comes to the progress of Semantic web. Worse case scenario, the data that we believe is private may be deliberately sold by companies who are hacked by thieves and that private information is now public and may land in the dark web. This is the reality that we all face. The proof of this is the attack on net neutrality. There are companies that are spending lots of money lobbying congress to reduce regulations on data security. The bottom line is that there are costs and benefits regarding emerging technologies. It’s always wise to proceed with caution.
Bibliography:
Campbell, Martin, Fabos (2017) Media & Culture: An introduction to Mass communication 11th edition. Boston, MA: Bedfort/St. Martin’s.
TEDx Talks. (April 5, 2018). Internet of Things: Are Smart Devices Helping or Harming? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipdTLJcIkWI&t=56s
General Electric. (Sept. 5, 2014). The Boy Who Beeps. [Video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG2cMVch48k
TEDx Talks. (Dec. 17, 2014). What is the internet of Things? And Why should you care? [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AlcRoqS65E
AbovePress 