ORIGINAL SUBMISSION Open Access

In this short text the authors claim that the challenges posed by Internet of Things cannot be managed with the current policy tools and research programs, as these are too slow and too instrumental. These challenges are: a) global cooperation and standards, b) new business models and new currencies, c) ethics, control society, surveillance, consent and data driven life, and d) technological challenges driven by the need to save energy. These lead up to the urgency to co-design decision making formats that aim at finding the perfect balance between top down planning and bottom up innovation.