Sadhana Srinivasan

Alissa Sclafani
Public Forum Case Outline: Negate(Con)
Writing the Constructive

Opening: We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain. - Stephen Hawking

We negate the resolution which states On balance, the benefits of the Internet of Things outweigh
the harms of decreased personal privacy.
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Definitions: Define any concepts or terms needing clarification from the resolved.
Internet of Things = The interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday
objects, enabling them to send and receive data. Personal Privacy = Privacy is the ability of an
individual or group to seclude themselves, or information about themselves, and thereby express
themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures
and individuals, but share a common themes. Harms = Physical injuries, damage of the health, has an
adverse effect. Benefits = an advantage or profit gained from something.

1. Main Argument One(Strongest argument): Personal Privacy

a. (Sub point A) Point: A decrease in personal privacy where there is a breach of
personal information occurs due to the Internet of Things.
i. Evidence: All of ones personal private information becomes public through
the Internet of Things including their email, phone numbers, birth date, credit card
numbers, search history and much more.
ii. Explanation (its the So What): Many of our everyday appliances and
machines are always connected , making much more information available to
others so it becomes difficult to make any information confidential. The more
information is spread, the easier it is for personal information to leak.
b. (Sub point B) Point: Hacking personal information can create many issues
i. Evidence: Although companies know the value of personal information they are
still providing their information to third parties, such as other companies that are
working with them to accomplish a task. Personal information is being used for
identity theft by opening fake bank accounts, false insurance claims, etc.
ii. Explanation: Most of the information is clustered up and used for other
purposes like algorithmic, and analytic engines. Companies like Amazon use the
personal information from others, and they use it to find recommended products
from what the user has previously searched. For example, many insurance
companies set up monitors around houses to monitor smoke detectors, security,
video doorbells, and more to collect data to increase efficiency and loss of
prevention. Assuming that the data is collected for privacy pricings as well as
sharing the data; one of the main issue is when the data is shared without
consent of the homeowner it creates legal issues. By stealing consumers
personal information, hackers and identity thieves are opening bank accounts to
deposit checks and withdraw money. It takes a long time for the affected
consumers to correct their records and recover the lost money. Not only does
this causes financial issues for the consumers but also mental harassment.
iii. Point: The more devices connected to each network the easier it is to attack
each network
iv. Evidence: Since there are usually more devices connected to the Internet of
Things, it makes attacking a device extremely easier.
v. Explanation: You are as strong as your weakest link. As the attack surface
increases it is easier for criminals to hack into one device and hop onto another
device connected in the same network. It helps the criminals to get to the high
 value target and commit massive damage. One device being attacked can
impact other devices that are in the same network, and its easier to exploit the
same information. This usually occurs on smart devices and home technology,
which wont alter the owner of the devices.
2. Main Argument Two(Strong but not the best): Over reliance on technology
a. (Sub point A) Point: The Internet of Things impacts many parts of life.
i. Evidence: The Internet of Things, requires hours and hours of being on the
internet although wearable technology can be used for good things, such as
monitoring heart rates and the amount of exercise during your day, a study at the
University of Toronto has found that if you are sitting for 8-12 hours or even more
during the day, even with regular exercise there is a higher risk of being
hospitalized.
ii. Explanation: No matter what your day consists of whether it is working from
home or at the office, using technology to scroll through websites and apps
creates a totally sedentary lifestyle. The shocking part is that no matter how long
you exercise during the day or when you exercise, the 8 hours you spend sitting
working on the computer you are creating a higher risk of going to the hospital
because of things such as cancer, heart conditions, or even something as severe
as early death. With different ways to sit at your desk with desks that have
bicycle wheels on them, a treadmill desk or a standing treadmill desk either at
your office or at home are new and trendy ways that keep you active throughout
the day while you are working. If that is out of your budget or not an option,
setting a timer every 30 minutes to an hour and walking around for a few minutes
can make the same difference.
b. (Sub point B) Point: If we dont have a piece of technology that we usually use, we
wont know how to act upon an issue.
i. Evidence - For example, if something were to happen to Googles website or
internet connection, people would be very frustrated considering how much they
rely on it. People use Google to ask questions, do research, look up the weather,
play games, and so much more. If something were to happen, people would be
lost. People also communicate with others for projects through Google Drive so
if something were to go wrong, those people could lose all of their important
work. In fact, National Public Radio did a study that revealed that 68% of
Americans say that they use a computer for their job. Of those people, 84% said
that computers are crucial for their job.
(https://www.npr.org/sections/technology/)
ii. Explanation: As technology takes over our day-to-day activities, everyone is
relying on underlying internet of things to do their jobs. Failure of some of these
internet of things might leave the consumers with no option but to wait until the
things are back. This puts everyone in a very vulnerable position as we know
from some of our previous experience that Internet being down pretty much puts
everyone idle and not accomplish tasks. This generation and every future
generation is going to rely on technology more than the last, considering they
have grown up with it. They wont bother learning another way and they really
wont have to.
3. Main Argument Three (Second strongest argument): Complexity
a. (Sub point A) Point: Considering how large and diverse the Internet of Things is, it is
made up of many complex networks that are prone to fail at any time.
i. Evidence: For example, a smart fridge sends you a notification that you need to
purchase more food because it has expired. The software ends up automatically
sending you a list of the groceries you need to buy.
ii. Explanation: No network is perfect and has many vulnerabilities to the Internet
of Things because it is so immense and complicated with many moving parts. It
is much more efficient and reliable if you just check the expiration date yourself.
 b. (Sub point B) Point: There are many pitfalls that can occur while using the Internet of
Things such as technology advances and the way they are manufactured.
i. Evidence: Many vendors are going out of business due to the amount of bugs
that are in their softwares. Since so many people are using the Internet of
Things, it increases the amount of time spent on the electronics and reduces the
amount of time that is spent with their family. While using so much time on
electronics and posting things it can expose all of the consumer's privacy while
striking distance of the third party.
ii. Explanation: Since there are so many new softwares and technology coming
out and the amount of technology just keeps increasing, the number of devices
that are being connected to the Internet are continuously growing which allows
them to be Internet-enabled. Since not all devices are connected to the Internet
and arent always maintained properly, they flood the Internet with a ton of
information and data that is unnecessary. This is a very important thing to think
about because if we continue to get smart devices that use the Internet of Things
to provide data, it can create unnecessary clutter and useless information.
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Closing Statement:
Therefore, my partner and I disagree with the resolution that states On balance, the benefits of the
Internet of Things outweigh the harms of decreased personal privacy. Due to all the concerns
regarding the complexity, over reliance on technology and personal privacy of the Internet of Things ,
Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.