INTERNET OF BEHAVIOR (IoB)
  • 26 January 2022
  • EmTech

INTRODUCTION

The availability of data increased greatly in recent times, which was the main reason for the expansion of the Internet of Things, companies need new ways to understand and use this data. Most of the daily activities carried out by companies have become large automated environmental systems and include many analytical processes that will track and collect said data and attempts to explain the vast amounts of data that are being produced by users' activities on the Internet.

The field of the Internet of Things is constantly expanding and developing despite its complexity, which represents the way in which devices and accounts that are processed by these smart technologies are linked, as well as the data stored in the cloud evolve to become more complex. This field provides all valuable data and information about customer behaviors, interests, and preferences, and this is the internet of behaviors.

Internet of Behavior: extending IoT.

Companies that use the Internet of Things are changing behaviors that are not related to things only. The Internet of Things connects people with their actions, and this leads to entering the Internet of behaviors. The behavioral sciences are divided into four areas that must be taken into account when using technology, they are: decisions, reinforcement, emotions, and companionship.

In this article, modern technologies that are generated by the Internet of Things will be addressed by knowing how to transfer all the data collected from the users' activities through the Internet and make it a useful thing and this leads to the concept of profit for companies and this thing is answered through a modern concept, which is the Internet of Behaviors (IoB).

The Internet of Behavior collects the digital dust of people’s lives from a variety of sources, and public or private organizations can use this information to influence behavior.

The concept of behavioral internet is relatively recent and developing continuously, as it attempts to understand the data collected from users' online activities from the perspective of a behavioral psychology. This concept aims to seek to address how to properly understand data and apply this concept to creating and marketing new products, all of which falls under the perspective of human psychology.

The data that is collected by users as a result of their interaction with the website, whether on their smartphones or their portable computing devices, is of the mechanism which is to click and move. this represents all the data that can be collected through analyzes and in the end, it forms the concept of big data.

Here we will highlight the work of the Internet of behaviors after collecting the huge amount of data, so what is exactly where the Internet of behaviors enters?

The concept of the internet of behaviors refers to a process by which the data provided or dealt with by the user is analyzed through the perspective of behavioral psychology, and then the results of this analysis are used to provide new approaches to how to design the user experience, improve the search experience, end products, corporate services, and the mechanism of action to market them.

The field of the Internet of behaviors combines current technologies that focus on the individual directly and include facial recognition, location tracking, and big data. It represents a mixture of three areas which are technology, data analytics, and behavioral psychology.

IoB will continue to influence how organizations interact with people because organizations are working to improve the amount of data collected and work on how data from different sources are mixed and used as IoB can collect, merge and process data from a variety of sources including:

  • customer data.
  • citizen data processed by government agencies.
  • social media.
  • public domain facial recognition.
  • location tracking. 

IoB CYBERSECURITY

In the Internet of Things applications people synchronize their devices and enjoy the benefits of customization and convenience it provides. The main problem is data collection, transfer, and use. However, the IoB approach requires a change in cultural and legal standards so that cybercriminals are not allowed to access sensitive information, especially the type of information that reveals patterns of behavior. Where they collect this data and sell it or take "phishing" to a new level because they pretend to be other people for their fraudulent purposes.

Companies that use IoB must understand that developing products, services, and marketing strategies and promoting them are their responsibilities, so the privacy of people must be respected, but the ethical use of information is still without clear rules, as the data that is used must be transparent allowing people who have knowledge of behavioral sciences to effectively manage behavior.

One way to secure data is to make companies get consent to collect personal data, eliminate biometric identifiers if necessary, and store information securely.

IoB BENEFITS

  • Customers' buying habits are analyzed by dealing with all platforms.
  • Previously inaccessible data about how users interact with products and devices are now studied.
  • It provides getting more detailed information regarding the whereabouts of the customer during the buying process.
  • Targeting sales points in real-time and then providing notifications.
  • Provide quick problem solving to close sales and satisfy customers.

IoB PITFALLS

It has been observed that a lot of people have concerns about their data. This is a very valuable and important matter, so people are worried about the lack of interest in companies or government about individual privacy because the Internet of Things is converting data into information, but it is too early to know if the internet of behaviors could translate knowledge into real wisdom.  

THE RISKS & ETHICAL QUESTIONS of IoB

The Internet of behaviors represents a powerful double-edged sword owned by companies thus they must work hard to monitor personal information, and this means that this modern technology suffers from it is not of a technical nature and therefore companies will expand their sources to include the following:

  • Smartphone
  • Laptop
  • In-home voice assistant
  • House/car cameras

IoB data is obtained from a range of sources including customer data, social media messages, and facial recognition and this can be used by public or private entities and this is based on privacy and facial recognition laws because there is a big debate about ethics about IoB because misuse of data hurts to harm the innocent and this is within the technology of facial recognition and this is the main reason behind bringing awareness of racism in artificial intelligence.

Scientists and researchers pointed out that the field of the Internet of behaviors is growing slowly at the present time, but it is technically possible, but that it will face ethical and societal discussions in the future, and this does not mean that it does not really exist, but that it must transcend privacy matters. 

CONCLUSION

People understood the Internet of behaviors while they were still trying to understand what the Internet of Things meant, and they concluded that the Internet of behaviors is a set of behavioral and usage data collected by devices based on the Internet of Things and this gave insights about users' preferences, interests, and behaviors as the Internet of behaviors showed broader patterns, for consumer behavior as well as containing different applications and different data.

Perhaps IoB is still in its early days, but after a few years from now, more than 50% of the world's population will be exposed to at least one IoB program, whether through a private company or from the government, meaning that IoB will grow simultaneously with the Internet of Things because it is an extension of it. In other words, in a few years, IoB will be more than just an acronym, an ecosystem that has defined human behavior within a digital world.