So have you heard about the “Internet of Things” yet? Does it make you nervous? Should it?

I must admit, even as much as I am online, the Internet of Things (or IoT) hasn’t made a large “blip” on my radar up to this point. I heard of it – or, at least, the beginnings of it – a few years ago with talk of “smart homes” that began to show up in high-end markets. Sensors in the walls would help moderate the climate in each room and control various appliances with simple voice commands. At least, that was the vision. I chalked it up, back then, to just something you might find in the pages of the magazine, Popular Science: possible, but not likely.

I am glad that I don’t make my living as a forecaster or a futurist because my so-called prediction was wrong. As of this past holiday season, we now have many home appliances that can connect to the Web – and to each other. I must say, it has become hard to keep track of all the advances made in this one area – smart home technology – in the past couple of years.

One company has come out with a refrigerator with a built-in “Family Hub.” This technology can alert your smart phone if you have run out of an item, give you weather updates, sync your family’s schedules, listen to music, and even order groceries online if you don’t feel like going to the store.

Another company felt that Bluetooth-connected counter top appliances were necessary for our morning rituals. They have just announced a “Connected Coffee Maker” that will allow you to use your smartphone to request your “specially-blended” cup of coffee (personal Starbucks, anyone?). Their “Connected Toaster” will allow morning commuters to leave home with their own individualized, perfectly toasted slice (gluten-free, if preferred).

Even I was amazed by the high “wow, that’s neat” factor of the Whirlpool Smart Kitchen Countertop. This technology consists of a large cook surface combined with a touch screen. You can pull up recipes, get automatic updates on any missing ingredients, communicate with incoming dinner guests, and even schedule cook times for the different dishes for the meal. (Oh yes, and you can choose any part of the surface and use it as a “burner.”) Don’t believe me? You can check it out here.

The question is: when we look at all the anticipated benefits and “convenience” of the Internet of Things (and these smart appliances), do we see them as positive or negative? Or a little of both, perhaps?

On the one hand, it is neat to see technology, in essence, “catch up” and make home life more like The Jetsons. But, if our refrigerator can place an order on Amazon when the toaster “says” we’re out of whole-wheat bread, aren’t we giving up significant amounts of privacy? After all, if our smartphones can see what’s in our fridge, and our riding mowers can let us know when they need oil or maintenance, then they could also be hacked for a variety of nefarious purposes.

I enjoy new technology and neat gadgets as much as the next geek, to be sure. But, at some point, we do need to ask ourselves if a WiFi-connected trash can is necessary – or even safe. To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum’s character in the 1993 movie, Jurassic Park, could it be that we are becoming so preoccupied with connecting everything to the Internet of Things, that we “didn’t stop to think if [we] should”?

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