Seems like everybody is talking about the Internet of Things (IoT)—the good, the bad and the alarming along the lines of. “It’s the beginning of machines taking over the world.” The IoT is when everyday products such as refrigerators, watches, speakers and more connect to the internet and to one another. The Internet of Things is already transforming our homes and workplaces. 

So, what are some of the world’s brightest minds, most notable figures or just everyday people saying about the Internet of Things (IoT)? Here’s a sampling of what’s been written or talked about when it comes to the Internet of Things.

“If you invent a breakthrough in artificial intelligence, so machines can learn, that is worth 10 Microsofts.” — Bill Gates

“And just like any company that blissfully ignored the Internet at the turn of the century, the ones that dismiss the Internet of Things risk getting left behind.” — Jared Newman

“If you think that the internet has changed your life, think again. The Internet of Things is about to change it all over again!” — Brendan O’Brien

“Whenever I hear people saying AI is going to hurt people in the future I think, yeah, technology can generally always be used for good and bad and you need to be careful about how you build it … if you’re arguing against AI then you’re arguing against safer cars that aren’t going to have accidents, and you’re arguing against being able to better diagnose people when they’re sick.” — Mark Zuckerberg

“I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, I’d probably say that. So we need to be very careful.” — Elon Musk

“The opportunity we have is to build a secure, intelligent platform that solves some of the world’s greatest problems at scale. That’s what’s possible with hundreds of billions of connexions and the capabilities that we can deliver together.” — Chuck Robbins

“What the Internet of Things is really about is information technology that can gather its own information. Often what it does with that information is not tell a human being something, it [just] does something.” — Kevin Ashton

“One cubic inch of nanotube circuitry, once fully developed, would be up to one hundred million times more powerful than the human brain.” — Ray Kurzweil

“As the Internet of things advances, the very notion of a clear dividing line between reality and virtual reality becomes blurred, sometimes in creative ways.” — Geoff Mulgan

“The Internet of Things is not a concept; it is a network, the true technology-enabled Network of all networks.” — Edewede Oriwoh

“When we talk about the Internet of Things, it’s not just putting RFID tags on some dumb thing so we smart people know where that dumb thing is. It’s about embedding intelligence so things become smarter and do more than they were proposed to do.” — Nicholas Negroponte

“Everything that can be automated will be automated.” — Robert Cannon

“Everything is being wired up or connected wirelessly—architecture, energy efficient sensing, secure networks, quality of service, new protocols, participatory sensing, data mining, GIS based visualisation, cloud computing, and international activities. It simply means that powerful information will be at our fingertips.” — Mehul Nayak

“Despite continued security problems, the IoT will spread and people will become increasingly dependent on it. The cost of breaches will be viewed like the toll taken by car crashes, which have not persuaded very many people not to drive.” — Richard Adler

“We have a deep need and desire to connect. Everything in the history of communication technology suggests we will take advantage of every opportunity to connect more richly and deeply. I see no evidence for a reversal of that trend.” — Peter Morville

“Convenience and ‘magic’ will overwhelm concerns. The history of technology is clear on this front—ATMs, e-commerce, credit cards, the list is endless.” — Sunil Paul

“Despite hacks and privacy issues, people will feel a need to keep connected, partly because companies will reward them for doing so (or make life difficult if they don’t).” — Joseph Turow

“There will be all kinds of hiccups, horror storeys, accidents, deliberate acts of sabotage and other bumps along the road that will slow but not stop our greater connectivity. Convenience and empowerment always seem to win for most people, even at some loss of privacy, control or transparency.” — Scott McLeod

“Internet of Things is transforming the everyday physical objects that surround us into an ecosystem of information that will enrich our lives. From refrigerators to parking spaces to houses, the Internet of Things is bringing more and more things into the digital fold every day, which will likely make the Internet of Things a multi-trillion dollar industry in the near future.” — PricewaterhouseCoopers report