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November 25, 2015
Greetings: This week: A renewed focus on security. Technology to help you sleep. Hot holiday gifts. Plus an update on robots in the workplace. Privacy vs. Security Debate Ramps UpAfter the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, technology's role in private communications is under the microscope. Government officials have stepped up warnings that encryption can be used by terrorists to plan attacks and evade surveillance. Encryption technology uses complex mathematics to scramble data so others can't read it without a password, even police with a warrant. The problem for law enforcement: Secure communications are becoming more widespread on mobile phones, free messaging apps, e-mail and websites. Some government officials are asking technology companies to develop systems that allow law enforcement agents with warrants to access encrypted data. How would it work? No one is sure yet, and computer experts, tech CEOs and privacy advocates balk at the idea. Technology companies won't meddle with encryption, but they'll find other ways to help. Some of the efforts are sure to remain secret. Others will be highlighted to show successful partnerships between government and industry. Expect tech firms to work more closely with officials who have warrants to turn over information from social networks and other websites. They'll voluntarily do more to monitor potential terrorist activity on sites, using big data and predictive analytics. There will be more ways for the public to communicate during a terrorist attack. Facebook, for instance, is expanding its reporting tool to tell others that you're safe. Plus you'll see more business for services that use big data forensics to track the public Web (think Twitter, YouTube and Facebook) and sniff out potential terrorist threats. ISIS and other terrorist groups often use social media as a recruitment tool. Firms that monitor the Web for intelligence agencies and businesses include Recorded Future, Dataminr and BrightPlanet. A standoff between the government and private companies over encryption would harm businesses. Since companies beyond the tech sector rely on encryption to fend off cybersecurity risks, any laws passed that banned or hindered encryption would have wide-reaching effects. A trade association made up of some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including Apple, IBM and Google, recently wrote, "Weakening security with the aim of advancing security simply does not make sense." Firms realize that new rules could dim global sales of technology products to businesses and consumers. But with encryption tools becoming more available, lawmakers will be more apt to find ways to aid police efforts. Ideas on the table include updating wiretap laws and adding new reporting requirements for Internet sites. Technology for Catching Z'sExpect a big market for technology that can help you get more shut-eye. Think pillows that emit soothing sounds and mattresses that adapt to your body and wake you gently. Also wearable sensors that monitor deep and light sleep and track the patterns on your smartphone to give you a report on how well you slept. "We are at the precipice of something big," says Michael J. Breus, a clinical psychologist with a specialty in sleep disorders. "The sleep industry has embraced technology in a very significant way." Up to 70 million adults in the U.S. -- a third of the workforce -- have some type of sleep disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The real payoff will be when everyone's sleep data is combined. Breus says that using data for tens of millions of nights of sleep will uncover valuable trends and insights. Sleep apps will deliver personalized alerts with effective tips on how to get better sleep, such as by doing yoga or eating certain foods. Sleep technology will eventually be included in company wellness programs. Doctors believe that poor sleep doesn't just make workers sluggish, it can also affect leadership and ethical decisionmaking. So all types of workplaces could benefit. Some of the latest products: Beddit, a $100 device that wraps around a bed to track snoring and movement. TempTraq, a $25, single-use adhesive thermometer placed under the arm to wirelessly record temperature all night. The ReST Bed, a $7,999 mattress packed with pressure-sensing fabric that adjusts firmness as you move. Technology for the HolidaysThe hottest tech toys this holiday season? TVs, fitness trackers and headphones. "This year in tech is all about TVs," says Stephen Baker, an analyst at NPD. Folks will be more receptive to 4K televisions, which have higher-quality displays than high-definition TVs. Sales of consumer electronics are expected to hit $34.2 billion, up 2.3% over last year. A third of Americans plan to buy emerging tech, and most tech products will be bought in person. Sales of fitness bands will soar. Awareness of the devices has taken off since 2013, good news for Apple and Android watches plus Fitbit, Jawbone and Garmin bands. A new crop of smart bands will also come in at lower prices, with some under $50. Weak sales of smart home systems and Android tablets will lead to steep price cuts. Also in for a bad year: Smartphone accessories, due to slowing smartphone sales. There's one tech gift that you have to let Uncle Sam know about. Drones will have to be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration. Interview with Melonee Wise, CEO of Fetch RoboticsFetch Robotics, based in San Jose, Calif., wants to bring advanced robots to more companies. CEO Melonee Wise has been building and programming robots for more than a decade. Fetch's mobile robots are used for packing boxes or grabbing items off shelves in warehouses. Unlike industrial robots of the past, the robots are designed to work side by side with humans in busy warehouses. Fetch aims to boost adoption by building cheaper robots that are controlled with easy-to-use software and can be upgraded for new tasks. We talked with Wise recently. Q: There's been a lot of discussion about how automation impacts jobs. How might Fetch robots, and robotics in general, affect company head counts? Wise: One thing people keep kind of glazing over is the industry we're targeting has 600,000 unfilled jobs. So they need automation because there aren't enough people to do the jobs. They're not great jobs. They fit in the dirty, dull and dangerous category. And they're low pay. I think that our robots are meant to be an augmentation system. We're making the case to work people less and make them more productive, but the person is still there. Q: Does your company's technology get smarter the more it's deployed? Wise: We can't do unsupervised learning -- that's what you'd call nascent artificial intelligence. But we can do supervised learning to create an experience for the robot that's supervised. Then the robot can learn as you modify that experience. The problem is when you have unsupervised learning, robots have to learn from negative examples. And a negative example could be going down a stairwell. But since everything is deployed on a server, we can do upgrades and add new features, do new applications, have new analytic tools for our customers. And so, in that way, it gets smarter. Q: Does that mean new robots will have to be easier to use than past industrial robots? Wise: That's why we're really focused on this Web interface. That's one of the biggest avenues for us to make it easier. You first eliminate the need for IT infrastructure because a lot of people struggle with just getting a program to run on Windows and Mac and Android. By putting it in a Web-based client, as long as you have a Web browser, whether it's an iPad or Android or whatever, it works and you remove that barrier to entry. Q: What about robots being used by companies that have never used them. Can you go to a company that has never used a robot? Wise: Yes. In fact, we are going to a company that's never used a robot. I think that it's needed. We keep talking about how America's going to stay in the lead economically. The way to do that is to bring automation to everyone. And our system is meant to be flexible. We want it to be ubiquitous technology that people can use--everyone from Walmart to a small grocery store distributor. Sincerely, View the archive of past Alerts issues
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