On the Obliquity of Ubiquity

Ubiquitous computing is emerging, and offers exciting potential. The notion of ubiquity will likely extend to more comprehensive ubiquitous service, as demand grows for the ability to access desired services at any time and at any place. However, these are hardly new notions, and are discussed in relation to visionary proposals put forward in the 1960s. The etymology of ubiquity derives from a metaphysical premise of the spatial and temporal omnipresence of the divine, and the notion extends through traditional religious thought far back into prehistoric belief. While ubiquity is clearly a highly desirable notion, it bears the danger of becoming an overly indulgent wish fulfillment, where all human needs and desires demand immediate satisfaction. Clearly, this represents an unhealthy extension of the idea. What is called for instead I term wisdom ubiquity: the wise provisioning of ubiquitous services, which within realistic parameters accommodate an appropriate level of human satisfaction.