The Father Of Wearable Computers Thinks Their Data Should Frighten You

We may not understand the full impact that wearable computers -- fitness trackers like the Fitbit, and augmented-reality devices like Google Glass, for example -- have on our privacy. In fact, one of the first computer scientists to work on wearable tech says we should be more wary.

Alex “Sandy” Pentland, director of the MIT Human Dynamics Lab, is an expert on the intersection of society and big data. Thanks to the revelations by Edward Snowden, many people now realize that their metadata (e.g., not the contents of your email, but the time and place you sent it from) is often up for grabs, regardless of how many privacy barriers they’ve put in place.

But Pentland doesn’t think we’re scared enough. Pentland wants us to be afraid of data collection, not of wearables themselves. Wearables, he told The Verge, will also allow us to be more social and productive, and supplement our memories with easily accessible information. We need them -- but we also need data privacy laws to evolve before the technology becomes ubiquitous.

The solution, Pentland said, is to make individuals the masters of their own data. “That’s the most important thing,” he said. “Control of the data.”