Watch a 'Daily Show' guest give a great explanation of the Internet of things

It’s not always easy to imagine what happens when all of the objects around us become computers.

The so-called “Internet of things” is slowly creeping into mainstream life, as clothing, utensils, and desks become imbued with intelligent tracking. If you’ve ever wanted a short explanation of the Internet of things (or want to quickly explain it to a family member), the Daily Show conducted a nice interview with MIT instructor and Enchanted Objects author David Rose last night.

When Rose pulled out an intelligent pill container, which reminds him to take his medication, Jon Stewart joked, “This is in essence my mother — in a cap form. Does it ever criticize you in any way?”

Indeed, there is already one intelligent object device called “Mother,” which can attach to a pill container. Over the next year, there will be a lot of common objects that become connected to the Internet of things. The Sensoria sock, for instance, is a connected wearable that helps runners with their form midstride.

Rose noted that he chooses to share a lot of data, including his Fitbit tracker, with Facebook. This was mildly concerning to Stewart, who is evidently not a fan of omnipresent advertising. “Once you put this out there and Facebook finds out you take these pills and you only got six hours of sleep, they will fucking haunt you”.

Personally, I’m excited for the Internet of things, especially wearables. There’s a number of devices coming out on the market to help users deal with stress, meditation, and fitness. But it can’t overwhelm users, and that will be a challenge for device manufacturers.

International readers can watch the full extended interview here.