How much technology is too much?

Let me begin by clarifying that I'm not a technology person. I barely understand anything beyond latching on to an available wifi signal, that too, provided I have a password! So you might want to disregard any ignorant statements that might follow.

Having said that, I'm a great fan of innovation and technology, and what you can do with it. At first, it was just the booking engine getting online, followed by travel aggregators and comparison sites. Since then, we've moved to smartphone apps for individual hotel chains, discounts for using those apps to book rooms, and any number of variants from there that you can think of.

I visited a friend at one of the newer, larger hotels in Chennai last year, and I was stunned by the technology that enabled the guest to control everything from an iPad. And I mean everything! The lights, the TV, room service orders. Heck, even the keyhole in the door was now via a camera, that streamed images to the iPad. [Much of this might be old in some more technologically advanced countries, but read the first paragraph of this post for my disclaimer!]

I recently read about it, and thought Hilton's idea of letting users have a view of the floor plan in their hotels in order to select a room was great. And then I read that Hilton now plans to scrap room keys in favour of using mobile devices to unlock your hotel room. Marriott recently revealed a future-use application that would connect users/guests with similar preferences, who stay in the same hotel. Heck, I could decide what temperature I want my water at when I shower after checking in, or what movie I want to watch later that evening, all before I even reach my destination city. I mean, the ideas are virtually endless.

And then, I read this article, about what one (seemingly good) guy experimented with at the St. Regis, Shenzen).

Jesus Molina, who was staying at the St. Regis Shenzhen hotel, 

found that he could easily take control of the thermostats, lights, 

TVs and window blinds in all of the hotel’s 250-plus rooms, 

as well as alter the electronic “Do Not Disturb” lights 

outside each door—all from the comfort of his luxurious bed.

That's downright scary. The article goes on to say...

Molina...found that the system uses an insecure protocol and
configuration. It allows anyone to sniff commands as they cross
the wireless network and replay them at will—to any connected
device in the hotel.

“Guests make assumptions that the channel they are using to
control devices in their room is secure,” Molina says. But it’s not.

So all that technology isn't really secure? Isn't reliable? Are you telling me, that someone who's elsewhere...maybe even a thousand miles or more away, can tell how much time I spend doing whatever it is I might be doing, with my hotel's internet connection? Or control the lights in my hotel room? Or worse?

Let us take that a step further. Suppose someone with a brain gone wrong chose to hide a very small video camera, with a transmitter of some sort, in a room, he could get to know exactly what's happening in the room? I'd like some of the more technology-oriented readers to weigh in on this, but isn't that actually possible?

I've read articles like this old one about geo-tagging and how photos posted online can reveal one's location and, if put together over time, movements. We've also got check-in tools and apps that are supposed to help us connect, but I'm not sure that an app like FourSquare doesn't reveal more than it appears to. And for a generation that's addicted to their smartphones and to sharing a ton of stuff online and publicly, that could spell some real dangers. This particular post on Flying With Fish drives home the point quite clearly.

India doesn't have a great reputation on the topic of treating women well. So while there's technology that helps inform your friends if you're running late, share your location, or even send out SOS messages at the push of a single button on your phone, all of that could be rendered irrelevant if a twisted mind could take control of your hotel room.

Over time, I've learnt to avoid doing things that might give away my location. For instance, I never reveal dates of travel online, say on Facebook (it's a different thing that I've almost become a Facebook recluse of late). But how long can one do that? Many hotels now let you earn bonus points in their loyalty program for checking in at some of their properties. While the incentive for the user is great, is the cost really worth it?

Certainly, the use of technology is only going to increase in future, and that raises lots of worries about the security of individuals. I used to think that Enemy of the State was not a realistic scenario, but I realise now that such stuff is more like Stalking 101 these days. I'll leave you with this video from that movie, though there's a big goof with the camera angle.