I had some interesting meetings last week seeing two of the incredible and varied benefits of ICT services.  But in both cases I noticed the common theme that technology can sometimes enable us to do things that don’t necessarily make sense to do.

The first was with Alice Ray, founder of a small software company called Ripple Effects. Ripple Effects produces a powerful platform for helping troubled youth learn skills and coping mechanisms to deal with situations with which they struggle.  A light bulb went off when I realized that communicating via the computer doesn’t have to be an inferior form of an in person interaction.  In some situations a computer can appear much less threatening and therefore a better tool than sitting in front of a person.

But Alice is also struggling with a data protection issue.  Her platform can identify and record what a participant is exploring.  So for example, if a young person explores the information for ‘child abuse’ it indicates a potentially discoverable piece of information. Counselors want to know it because it might help them aid the young person.  Schools want to know it for a similar reason.   But does a youth want this information revealed?  If it becomes known that their actions are being watched youth will not want to use the platform. I am by no means knowledgeable enough on this topic to state an opinion, but it certainly illustrates the gap between what you can do with technology and what you should do with it.

I came across another example later the very same day (I love my job!) when I attended Gridweek in DC.  I visited with some of the vendors and customers with whom we are working on smart grid and smart metering on both sides of the Atlantic. It is incredible how the capabilities of ICT technology and needs of energy grids are intersecting. I also saw some very impressive consumer dashboards and associated systems for managing energy usage in the home. They were impressive, but I am not convinced that they were valuable.  I was nowhere near convinced that a consumer (myself included) would take the time to determine at what price of electricity they want the thermostat to change the room temperature or fridge temperature, and by how many degrees. The technology can enable us to do it, but that doesn’t mean we are going to. What we need is something that will make the consumers life easier to manage in a low carbon economy, not something that makes life more complex.

So what’s the bottom line that I learned from these different interactions? It clearly pointed out to me that just because you can does not mean you should.