Chris is known as The Most Connected Man on Earth and for good reason. All throughout his day, Chris is connected to numerous sensors that collect the data that make up his life. Data that most of us don't even notice or think about.
He has been featured on Showtime, The WSJ, NPR, Ted Talks, and more!
Please ask him anything on technology, IoT, healthcare, what he means when he says we are moving towards an "Internet of Humanity", his life as The Most Connected Man on Earth, or anything else you want his opinion on!
The "Internet of humanity" is a nod to something I called my system in 2008, which was "Inner-Net". That was riff off "Internet".
The original "Inner-Net" was the idea that we are webs of information and we needed a way to surf ourselves.
The Internet of Humanity is how we are all emotionally, spiritually, and physically linked now through our behavior.
There is a type of Humanity API that exists, news moves, through it, disasters move through it, fears, hopes, and dreams.
I believe in time everyone will come to care about their connections, but for now, most are too distracted by the convenience of getting something for nothing than understanding how things arrive in their life!
If I'm waiting for a customer to pay, I try not to look at my credit card balanced!
Do you ever feel overloaded by the data you collect?
No! I have created a way to live in harmony with my data now that filters everything through my family values. So the data is actually really beautiful now!
Is there ever a time when you ignore some of the data you have collected because it is not relevant or not helpful?
Yes, see my first answer about sleep and credit card balances!
My rules were the FIRST thing I created!!
HARD DATA
SOFT DATA
CORE DATA
Everything Fell into one of these buckets. Once I started seeing my life, I needed a way to weight the data on if I could have "played" with it or "manipuatled it".
HARD DATA was data that was picked up that I probably had no direct hand in manipuatling. For instance, heart rate, respiration are examples of things we tend NOT to manipualte.
CORE DATA is data that I will NEVER have a hand in. Things like genetics, blood work, etc.
SOFT DATA was everything else, spending, posts to social media, emails, etc. All things I collect but since I know I'm collecting, I'm "performing"
The weighting system was to evaluate what was changing FOR REAL.
Yes! I learned years ago that if I wanted ideas to stick, feedback loops had to go not only to me but to people I care about. So if I ignore an alert long enough, it is sent to my family to remind me. I also sent notifications to the future, by placing things in a database that show up in the future.
For example, if I'm anxious or scared, I'll write to myself in a journal entry for weeks from now and tell myself how it all worked out. Strangely enough, when the day comes, I was always right.
Secondly, there is a justified worry that the data we collect will be shared with the companies who own the tools we collect the data with. For example, I've definitely NOT read all of Amazon Alexa's terms and conditions because I'm not a lawyer and don't have that kind of time to read the TOS for every item I purchase. My voice commands could 100% be used to train Alexa and I'm not aware of it.
Do you care about this aspect of data privacy? If so, how do you ensure that the sensors and tools you use aren't leaking your data to the company that made them?
Did you set out with the goal of becoming the most connected man in the world, or did it happen organically based on changes you made in your life for their own sake?
Oh goodness, no. I can't even imagine having that much forethought, well, I guess I can now! As I became aware of the powerful way of seeing your life for decisions, it evolved organically.
Secondly, there is a justified worry that the data we collect will be shared with the companies who own the tools we collect the data with. For example, I've definitely NOT read all of Amazon Alexa's terms and conditions because I'm not a lawyer and don't have that kind of time to read the TOS for every item I purchase. My voice commands could 100% be used to train Alexa and I'm not aware of it.
Do you care about this aspect of data privacy?
I care about data safety, but privacy means nothing to me. It's a nice way of dividing people. 100 years ago, we had no concept of privacy, a 100 years from now, we won't again.
If so, how do you ensure that the sensors and tools you use aren't leaking your data to the company that made them?
Everything about the internet was freeing. It starts with an address bar, you can go anywhere. Once there, you can click on anything. You can go back, go forward, save what you see for later and go as often as you like.
The internet was a dream come true for me.
My husband today calls it the night he had a swab and a sandwich and fell in love.
Measure what you care about. The challenge with a lot of apps and devices, is they TELL you what to care about. In our world today we are constantly fighting with the bigger issue of, we don't know how to measure what we care about, so we care about what we measure.
To start, ask yourself, what's important, not what's possible. Then figure out HOW you would measure success. THEN find an app or device!
And what devices would you recommend to help them keep track?
The coolest tracking device right now is the Amazon Halo. It gives you feedback on how you talk to others.
First, I'd like to ask if you use the data you collect for self improvement in any way? Or has the data you collected helped you improve certain aspects of your life?
Secondly, as technology evolves, we are getting access to more and more data right at our fingertips. No one would've thought about wearable devices being able to monitor blood oxygen levels on the fly 15 years ago and maybe 15 years from now, we'd be able to get even more data like blood sugar levels, hormone levels and other information about our bodies' functions and chemical processes as well. When that happens (because it's only a matter of when, not if), and since you mentioned having a rule on 'core data,' do you still plan to have any limits on what data you want to gather?
Secondly, as technology evolves, we are getting access to more and more data right at our fingertips. No one would've thought about wearable devices being able to monitor blood oxygen levels on the fly 15 years ago and maybe 15 years from now, we'd be able to get even more data like blood sugar levels, hormone levels and other information about our bodies' functions and chemical processes as well. When that happens (because it's only a matter of when, not if), and since you mentioned having a rule on 'core data,' do you still plan to have any limits on what data you want to gather?
No. I only hope in this time frame we find a way to measure spirituality and connectedness, energy or that something that makes us believe in magic and create hope for each other.
What good are heartbeats if they don't last in some way, forever?