Wired warns us about the future, kill switches, and Digital Manners Policies arguing, “Once we go down this path — giving one device authority over other devices — the security problems start piling up.”
I tend to agree. When the person behind the wheel loses complete control they are put in a position where someone else might abuse these new controls. As a tinker-er I’d also feel any managed devices I owned had been crippled.
However, the security problem I also worry about is the potential for a false sense of security. It may sound convenient to have phones muted in theatres, but there are contexts where this could be dangerous (a doctor might not realize the restriction and miss an important call). Certainly someone will think that, since OnStar can turn off their car if it were stolen, they can leave the doors unlocked and the keys on the dash.
Trusting technology is fine–but there might come a point where this trust could make us less aware of our surroundings.