The world until yesterday was a dumb place. Nothing spoke, nothing listened, nothing saw, nothing knew, nothing did much of anything at all. Only the people were intelligent and animate; the things were inactive and disconnected. But then, as if they were struck by the bolt of lightning that animated Frankenstein’s monster, things began to stir and switch on. It wasn’t just one thing that woke up, though. Everything was energized by digital information and computation. Through sensors things can now observe, through networks they can now communicate, through algorithms and automation they can now act. Even mundane objects are more active and aware than the most complex machines of the past. The world was dumb, but now it is smart.