Fertile New Ground for Fiction

Amazon just announced new devices and services that will allow the company to remotely open a locked door and deliver packages inside a person's house as opposed to leaving them outside.

But according to an article in The Seattle Times, there is much more to it than just that.





Besides granting access to package delivery personnel, the system can allow entry for cleaners, dog walkers and other service providers that plug into Amazon’s system, and eventually subscribers will be able to permit friends and family to gain keyless entry to their homes as well.

The system can be equipped with a security camera and audio capabilities that would allow users  to talk with people, or give commands to pets, that are inside their house when they are away. According to The Seattle Times  article, Walmart has announced that it is developing something similar.

While Amazon naturally emphasizes the security of the new system, one can only imagine what hackers might be able to accomplish.  And, of course, the law of unintended consequences has yet to be repealed and, one can say with confidence, it never will  be.

This is clearly, among other things, fertile new ground for fiction.