everyware are all commonly used terms Machines on the go… do we build and shape such pervasive
for generally similar phenomena—the When presented properly, the ben- sensing systems without slipping into
increasing presence in our everyday efits of pervasive IT are obvious. The coercion, surveillance, and control?”
lives of information and communica- popularity and benefits of the Internet
tion technologies (ICT) that are too and cellphones need not be defended ...in the home…
small to notice, or integrated into ap- or even described, but the amount of Kalpana Shankar, anassistantprofessor
pliances or clothing or automobiles, or personal information in circulation in the School of Informatics and Com-
are aspects of services we use willingly. over the former is tremendous and in- puter Science and an Adjunct Assistant
Some technologists have professed a creasing, as are the unsanctioned uses Professor in the School of Library and
goal for such technologies to be invis- of personal data. The position-broad- Information Science at Indiana Uni-
ible to the users, taken-for-granted casting function of the latter is not ne- versity Bloomington, distributed a case
or simply unnoticed by most people, farious in intent. Both can be used in study to participants before the work-
continuous with our background envi- knowledge creation, but also for stalk- shop. The case study, “Sensing Pres-
ronment, existing and operating below ing of various sorts. ence and Privacy: The Presence Clock,”
and behind the realm of real-time hu- At the workshop, Katie Shilton, a was developed as part of an NSF-funded
man intervention or awareness. doctoral candidate in the Department research project, “Ethical Technology
These technologies were the focus of Information Studies and a research- in the Homes of Seniors,” or ETHOS
of a two-day workshop held last year: er at the Center for Embedded Network ( http://ethos.indiana.edu/).
Ethical Guidance for Research and Ap- Sensing (CENS) at the University of Cal- An increasing number of people
plication of Pervasive and Autonomous ifornia at Los Angeles, described three want to live in their own homes as they
Information Technology (PAIT). The intriguing CENS projects using mobile age and begin to become less self-reli-
workshop was funded by the National phones; I’ll describe two. ant due to slowly increasing frailty of
Science Foundation (grant number Participants in the Personal Envi- various sorts. Their offspring want to
SES-0848097), with additional support ronmental Impact Report (PEIR) pro- ensure they are safe and that responses
from the Poynter Center for the Study gram record and submit a continuous to mishaps are rapid and certain. The
of Ethics and American Institutions locationtraceusingtheirmobiledevic- ETHOS project investigates how In-
( http://poynter.indiana.edu) at Indiana es. A participant’s location is captured ternet-connected devices that alert re-
University Bloomington, and hosted by every few seconds, allowing the system sponsible parties to troubling changes
the Association for Practical and Pro- to determine the location and infer the in routine—such as a person falling in
fessional Ethics ( http://www.indiana. most likely mode of locomotion—foot, the living room and not getting up—
edu/~appe). Thirty-six scholars, includ- car, or bus. The participant’s travel pro- can give care providers peace of mind
ing ethicists, engineers, social scien- file is then correlated with Southern and elders more autonomy than they
tists, lawyers, geographers, and social California air quality and weather data, would enjoy in an assisted-living facili-
scientists, participated in the meeting, allowing PEIR to estimate the partici- ty as well as life-saving interventions in
discussed ethical issues in pervasive pant’s carbon footprint, as well as her an ethical manner acceptable to both
IT, and began crafting approaches to or his exposure to air pollution. The elders and their offspring.
ethical guidance for the development accuracy of the data gives an unprec- The Presence Clock case can be
and use of such devices, including edented look into the environmental found at the PAIT blog (h ttp://ethical-
public policy guidance. The workshop harms people create and suffer. pait.blogspot.com/2009/08/case-
schedule, a list of participants, and Through the Biketastic project, bi- study-presence-clock.html) along with
more can be found at http://poynter.cyclistscarryingGPS-enabledmobilecommentary.Br iefly described, the
indiana.edu/pait/. In this space, I can- phones transmit data on their routes Presence Clock is an analog clock that
not hope to do justice to the rich and through L.A. The information is not comes in pairs. One clock is installed
wide-ranging conversations we had at limited to position, but also includes in the elders’ living space and the sec-
the workshop, so I will focus on three data on the volume of noise and, using ond in the living space of their caretak-
significant topics we discussed at the the device’s accelerometer, the rough- ers. The two clocks are connected via
workshop. ness of the path. The data is transmit- the Internet. Both clocks sense move-
tedtoa Website( http://biketastic.com) ment and presence and lights on the
and displayed. Future improvements remote clock show roughly how much
could display existing data about the time someone spent at any given hour
route, such as air quality, traffic con- in the room with the local clock; the
ditions, and traffic accidents. The time spent is indicated by the bright-
Biketastic riders can also share their ness of a light next to the relevant hour
information with other riders to create marker (for example, a dull light at 1
a detailed profile of the rideability of and a bright light at 4 indicate some-
numerous routes. one spent little time near the clock at
Shilton described not only the ben- 1 and a good deal of time there at 4). A
efits and uses of these projects, but the different-colored light blinks next to
potential down-side and abuses. Sum- the hour marker when someone most
marizing the latter, she asked, “How recently entered the room.

When presented
properly, the benefits
of pervasive it are
obvious.