It is very optimistic and, at least for geeks, sounds pretty good. But, there is another side to it. Call it the Big Brother side. I recommend this ActivistPost article for a look at this issue.

One of IBM's predictions is "In 5 years, 80% of current global population will have a mobile device." What they are promoting here is that access to information with be easier/more universal decreasing the gap between haves and have nots. It's a nice theory but there are two ingredients in this mix. One is a method to access information which IBM is talking about. The other is availability. To offer a simple example, if a poor person in Latin America is given a device to access information but they told they can buy a program to learn English for $500, their situation has not improved.

I have no issues with what IBM is suggesting. The issues are with how we can make it benefit everyone and how we can maintain our privacy.