New York Times: Will everyone’s cellphones track their health in the future?
Esther Dyson: Yes, most people’s cellphones will. Not everyone will track everything, but a lot more people will start to — there are so many incentives to do so. I recently met a company that has a special fabric for clothing that can monitor heartbeats and other information, so it will become simple and efficient.
NYT: What’s the incentive for the average American to track this information?
ED: Some people won’t care, but more people will, especially as it becomes easier.
NYT: What’s the business plan for these health start-ups?
ED: There will be a lot of sponsorship opportunities. Right now, we don’t know if this measuring works, but in the next few years we’ll learn a lot. So collecting the data is going to be key. Eventually we’ll get to the point where employers are going to be paying for this. It’s in a company’s, and the insurance industry’s, best interest for employees to be healthy.
NYT: And you believe the average person will do this?
ED: Anyone will tell you if you want to run a business, you need to monitor costs and revenues. In the same manner, if you want to run your body, you need to monitor intake and returns. It’s in your best interest.