Two-thirds of the way through the conference, there was a pause to talk about what we had learned.  I painted an image of what I gathered the future would look like...

“My refrigerator lets my smart-phone know I’m out of milk and my car responds by mapping the nearest store.  When I arrive at the store it’s not milk waiting to be picked up -- it’s soy milk.  Believe it or not, my toilet had a say in the matter.” - Tery Spataro, SIME Stockholm, 1999. 

Today we are experiencing how these devices can help us improve our quality of life and our health.

To learn what this means, I called on an expert user’s opinion on what it is like be a connected human. I had a delightful and inspiring conversation with Chris Dancy, the most connected human on earth.  Chris sees the future in terms of human data.  He was super-polite and very gracious with his time and thoughts. 

Chris monitors everything about himself, including food, moods, exercise, sleep and environment. His vast and unique mind unearths insights from different variables in the data he collects on himself.  I see Chris's mind like an OLAP cube, able to discover insights though correlations of different variables. I was most amazed at his discovery that his driving speed correlated to the temperature of his environment. The future of data is in human data!

His concern is that we confuse the volume of information with the speed technological change. He advises that we should focus on exploring our own “Inner Net.” This self discovery could lead to greater insights into our health and well being – could you imagine less disease?

Let’s take a step back in history to look at who we were and to identify the devices we used to understand what our behavior was during these times and the context. By mapping this out, we can see why the device explosion is occurring now.

What we have had are dumb devices.  They provide data, but no direction. Framework for human needs: tools to gather data, data that provides solutions, tools that track data, data that provides results.

Before we are ready to emerge in what devices can do for our health and well-being, we must connect to our data.

Which is why I'm so excited about CES - As you can see, CES 2014 is a market indicator with so much excitement for new digital health products.

I got to try so many of these new devices.  There are devices to help gather our health data and devices that will help with the analysis of that data. I am especially fond of Om signal clothing, which has built-in sensors that help you manage stress and allow you to share your stress reports with your family. Sensoria sports bra has a sensor to manage heart rate. You can outfit yourself from head toe in these devices. 

There were even devices for your pets to monitor their biology and emotions.

3 findings is uncovered from CES 2014:

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  Devices will offer a benefit when data is collected – sports performance and health indicators.

  
  


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  Making sense of the data is going to be critical in order create change in health. Not everyone is as proficient at grasping insights from data as Chris Dancy is. In the future, we will see experts offering advice in the interpretation of data so that consumers can achieve better sports performance, health results, or even recommendations on for better senior care.

  
  


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  Data is becoming more and more valuable.  We need to make a determination on where to store data -- and who to share this data with.  As the self-gathering of data becomes more the norm, we may see regulation and oversight from government agencies like FDA.  Back in November of 2013, the FDA decided to regulate 23andMe. One of this issues FDA cited as the need for regulation was a lack of education with the data provided to the customer regarding their DNA.  The same can happen here.

  
  

Becoming a connected human will require a shift in our behavior with devices. BJ Fogg points out that to create a persuasive behavior you have to have 3 components: trigger, motivation and ability. BJ says you need these components to happen at the same time. I may need to manage my weight but will I step on the scale? If I step on the scale, will I use the results to change my behavior?

​As we become more engaged and emerged with our devices what are the effects?

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  In my observations, one effect could be the loss of intuition -- or a more heightened sense of intuition.  We have all experienced waking up before the alarm clock goes off perhaps with the use of these monitoring, sensing technologies that same can happen.

  
  


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  Sherry Turkle thinks that technology may lead us back to our real lives, our own bodies, our communities, and our own planet.

  
  


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  Technology is evolving us through our behavior with these devices -- gathering data, analyzing the data, using the data as a stepping stone to making us healthier humans.

  
  


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  Singularity:  Timeline for the Singularity is moving up.   It was previously 2045, but it may be as early as 2030.  Ray Kurzweil says medical nanobots will help us connect our brain to the cloud.  Nanobots may provide us with the ability to correct a health crisis situation before the crisis becomes fatal.  I don’t think I would like having my mind hacked.

  
  


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  How will these changes impact our hospitals and physicians, health care and pharmacies? I see changes coming in which the hospital of the future may be similar to the place you take your car in for a tune-up. The pharmacy could supply you with your app, and a physician would actually visit you in the home, if only by IBM’s Watson.

  
  


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  Its data that will determine the difference between the haves and have-nots.  As Chris Dancy said, "There could be a data Elysium.”

  
  

Cautionary Tale!  We will need to be careful regarding our exploration of our health data collection and health devices, and guard against abuse and misuse that will threaten innovation.

There is so much to consider in the creation of these new technologies, I narrow it down to three basic guidelines.

The health devices that we use to gather, share, engage and measure all must be low friction. A scale that tells me what to eat, provides practical guidance to my exercise needs, and adds me to a social network support group is more beneficial than merely providing my weight. 

We must explore our inner self to understand what our needs will be for data gathering, analysis, and sharing – the ability to personalize needs is a must.

If we want to be better, fast, smarter and healthier, then self-health correcting technologies need to be mindful. Technology needs to be sensitive and present to provide human connection. Mindful technology will lead to more self awareness.

Devices should be here to help make our lives better but not take over our lives.

My philosophy centers on the confluence of humans with technology and the environment. This means that we peacefully co-exist with the environment and technology, and work on improving the human condition through technology while preserving the environment and what makes us human. 

Images:

- Tery Spataro

- http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs

/adrian-limani-lightbulbs-photography