My friend there is a lot of intellectual intercourse going down to create all these smart cities and things. But how smart is it? We give up personal control in the transportation world for the benefit of cars talking to each other. Do folks want or SHOULD sacrifice control of their mobility for a grid car experience? And you ask about solar, wind and other forms of energy. Yes all good UNTIL the utility companies take those energies over for profit. We again sacrifice our control of energy for the dependence on the utility company. They do not want you to be self-sufficient. Smart ate? What about privacy? Many of us totally resent big brother and his firm grip on the world. Orwell predicted this day and he well may be rolling in his grave over this. well let's take it a step further what about smart people. Let's merge with machines and become the singularity. Sacrifice our conscience, our soul and perhaps our DNA for the benefit of ageless eternal life on earth. That may qualify as smart humans.
I have found that terms used in the past 15 years or so are the opposite of what they really are. This started following 911 and continued. The Patriot Act is far from Patriotic. Hope and change was neither hope nor change in America. So too is anything smart. Yes it will come and be. It is unstoppable. Yes there are benefits...but at what price? Privacy? Control? independence? Big Brother? Freedom? There comes a point where intellectual intercourse becomes a threat to the individual and when placed in the wrong hands can be a monster. Think if Hitler, Stalin or Mao had these tools at their fingertips when they reigned? where would one find freedom? smart does more harm than good when placed in the wrong hands. Just like knowing when to say when and walking away from that third or fourth glass of Long Island Ice Tea or shot of whiskey, one must know when to turn away from intellectual intercourse as it is not always smart. Good article my friend and thanks for the mind stimulation.
I agree that privacy will be a huge issue in tomorrow's world, but we are headed there regardless.
I didn't understand one thing though. How would big utility companies take over solar power? There will always exist competition thanks to free market and if we are reducing dependence on them, won't it reduce their power?
i am not certain HOW they will do it, but They will do all they can from you getting it for free. i have heard report in the USA of some off grid people getting told to shut down their operation because the the utility company was not making money off them and they we not complying. Other people have been bought out or shut down. Think of all the alternatives for gasoline. Hell you can burn cooking oil from a restaurant as fuel. That was silenced. Countless other types of energy for cars have been silences. Solar and wind is no different. If the Big utility corporations cannot make money off of you they will prevent you from it. Countless other forms of energy historically were silenced by the big corporations and elites. It could be a big Global climate change tax for which the monies go to the utility companies. But history dictates that they will not let you enjoy it in large quantities without paying the big boys for he use. History dictates that they want us as dependent as possible. There are large movement of folks fighting this through grass roots efforts of urban farming, hobby farms, self-sustaining efforts but it is a battle. It will be intriguing to see how it all plays out. More intellectual intercourse to contemplate. Again thanks.