Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast Ep 602 - Future Man (feat. Kevin Ashton)
6 snips
Mar 6, 2026 Kevin Ashton, futurist and tech pioneer who coined the term Internet of Things, discusses big-picture tech and storytelling. He talks early IoT, the rise of smartphones and intuitive design, AI as a tool lacking human meaning, and how smartphones democratize storytelling. The conversation also covers deepfakes, the social power of stories, and the limits of long-term prediction.
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How The Internet Of Things Pitch Landed A MIT Lab
- Kevin Ashton told the Procter & Gamble board the idea he called the Internet of Things and many executives initially mocked it.
- The CEO Dirk [sic] Jagger approved funding to send Ashton to MIT, which launched his career and the IoT lab.
IoT Explained As Plugging The World Into The Internet
- The Internet of Things is simply plugging sensors into physical objects so they can report data to the internet.
- Ashton framed IoT as attaching chips to products for location and logistics tracking long before smartphones or Wi‑Fi were ubiquitous.
Watching Big Phone Companies Miss The Smartphone
- Ashton served on Motorola's research board and watched companies miss obvious smartphone opportunities.
- He recalls Motorola and others failing to grasp touchscreens and sensors, while LG and later Apple pushed the market forward.
