The term Ambient Intelligence refers to invisible 'smart' technology embedded into the everyday human environment, or even the human body itself.
A refrigerator which keeps track of what is used and produces its own shopping list; a lamp which recognizes individual users and adjusts itself accordingly. Or an implanted microchip which tells you when it's time to take your medicine.
The promise is that technology will be placed at the service of the individual. However, we must ask whether that promise can or will be kept. The 'cooperative' environment could become a 'prescriptive' environment, in which technology seeks to direct our behaviour.
The objective of the Ambient Intelligence and Health project was to identify desirable applications of ambient intelligence in the field of healthcare, together with any potential problems or pitfalls. The project culminated in the publication of the book Ambient Intelligence: toekomst van de zorg of zorg van de toekomst ['Ambient Technology: the future of care or the care of the future?']. During the debate held to mark its launch, the Rathenau Institute laid the foundations for a broad-based discussion about the use of 'smart' technology in healthcare.