Ellis’s idea -- the thing he calls The Zero Dollar Car -- is that there is coming a day when you will be able to get a car for free, because the data coming off them can be sold to interested parties and it will be more valuable than the car itself. The companies that leverage and profit from that data will pay you enough to entirely offset the cost of the car you just purchased, if you only agree to let them harvest the data that’s generated as your car operates and moves around.
Imagine that you’re buying a $40,000 U.S. car. Say you want to reduce the price of that car by agreeing to sell the information generated by six sensors: traction control, headlights, clock, wipers, rain, and barometer. If you could sell those weather sensors for an agreed-upon lifetime price, let’s say $3,000, that would reduce the price of the car to $37,000.
Cars also contain suspension-monitoring sensors that, while providing information on the health of the vehicle’s ride, could also record every time the vehicle passes over a rough stretch of road in need of repair. This data is potentially of interest to government agencies who maintain roads and highways. Now imagine that you could sell the suspension-monitoring sensors to a government agency for, let’s say, another $2,000 lifetime price. That would reduce the price of the car you’re buying to $35,000.
Almost every modern-day car contains a microphone. Imagine giving permission to Google to monitor what is being said in the vehicle to better help with navigation or searching for that perfect place to eat. If you could sell your voice data to Google for a $5,000 lifetime price, that would reduce the price of the vehicle to $30,000. And what about handing over the information from sensors that detect speed and from car cameras? That might be valuable traffic information that could cut another $2,000 off the purchase price of your car.
In theory, if you sold the data being generated from several more sensors, you could dramatically reduce the price of your $40,000 car. Now imagine what could happen in the future, when there are lots more sensors, and companies like Apple and Google figure out new ways to package the data coming out of those cars -- especially self-driving cars that leave riders plenty of time to read and shop and play on their portables and phones. The value of that data could end up being equal to or more than the purchase price of a car. It could be a data bonanza. Who would be the winner? If it’s you, the driver, you could have a car that effectively costs you zero -- the Zero Dollar Car.
You get the idea. It’s kind of a fun idea to think about. But I think it has a fatal flaw. After all, who says that all the wonderful data belongs to you in the first place? Future cars, it seems to me, are much more likely to be leased, loaned, or given to you under an agreement where the car manufacturer keeps and sells all the data. You won’t even be able to get a car unless you sign on that bottom line. There’s a chance that that future car may still be free to you -- after all, if the data is so valuable, would a car company really want something like a sticker price to stand in the way of all those other profits -- but I can’t see a scenario in which you’re the one selling, and profiting, from that data.
Ellis, I think, sees this, too. In his conclusion, he highlights the issue of data ownership as one of the two big challenges that stand between us and the future envisioned by his Zero Dollar Car.
Society needs to redefine the concept of ownership. This is at the heart of the [Internet of Things]. With so much software in so many places -- even including what we wear -- the question of who owns the data is becoming critical. We all leave a digital trail wherever we go, and so far, every time we click “accept” on one of those long, confusing terms-and-conditions forms that no one reads, we give away our personal data -- a priceless asset not only to marketers but corporations and governments. What do we get in return? “Free” email, text, internet search, and content. And we also give up our data every time we order a product on Amazon or Target, accept a discount from a travel company or airline, purchase a new appliance or home security system, pair our smartphone with our car…
I hate to burst Ellis’s bubble, but from where I sit that ship has already sailed. Society has already redefined the concept of ownership, and it is not in the direction Ellis would prefer. Practically speaking, there no longer is any concept of “personal data,” except perhaps in the medical space. All the data that is generated by all the sensors on our cars, appliances, and smartphones -- none of that data belongs to us, it belongs to the corporations that provide us with “our” cars, appliances, and smartphones.
The days of the Zero Dollar Car are already upon us, except, funny, we’re not getting our cars, appliances, and smartphones for free. There’s no need for that. Not only are we happy to give away all the valuable data we help generate, we’re willing to pay for the honor of doing so.
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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.
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