Cloud computing: Lose my data, lose myself?

Does anyone feel the least bit unsettled by the emergence of cloud computing as the Next Big Thing in computer innovation? Yes, it looks like a great idea on paper (or monitor): less computer hardware, common applications on line, cost savings, easy networking, a pooling of computer resources. Sounds like win-win, doesn't it?

Not quite. Others with far greater technology minds than my own have expressed concerns about cloud computing related to privacy, security, disconnection from the Internet, vendor compliance and health, and data loss. And we saw evidence of the weakness of cloud computing with the recent loss of data by owners of T-Mobile's Sidekick smartphone due to a system failure.

But my discomfort, not surprising given the focus of my writings, is far deeper and more visceral than concerns about, say, identity theft or invasions of privacy. My unease lies in what cloud computing may mean to us as psychological and emotional beings. Data, whether emails, documents, spreadsheets, finances, media, or other types of information, may just be collections of binary code, but they mean something much more important to us. All of those zeros and ones represent much of who we are: how we live and work, the people with whom we interact, and our values and interests.

In a way, we would be putting ourselves up on a cloud, still tethered to Earth, but only by a very thin and vulnerable cord called the Internet; a truly precarious image, I think you would agree. So much of who are and what we have would be held at a distance from us. We would become less whole and more fragmented. And we could actually lose a large part of ourselves temporarily, if we lost our Internet connection or, more scarily, permanently, if wherever in that cloud on which we store "ourselves" crashes or is destroyed, as those Sidekick users learned so painfully.

When I think about the worst things that could happen to me, after a death in my family and my suffering a serious illness or injury, loss of my data follows close behind. Without being melodramatic, my career (e.g., my writings, consulting projects, business plans, financial information) and my personal life (e.g., photos, videos, music, and correspondences) would be devastated. Thinking of ‘losing my life' in this uniquely modern way fills me with genuine dread.

Certainly, we run some of the same risks when we keep our data on our computers (the hard drive could crash) or on an external back-up drive (it could get fried or stolen). In some ways, putting a part of our data in a cloud seems safer because it isn't as affected by immediate threats and it is, in theory, in the hands of professionals.

Of course, whether in a computer or a cloud, the reality is that data is still just a bunch of bits, but my concerns aren't about reality, but rather about our perceptions connected to that reality. This discussion would be pointless if it was just about what is objective and rational. But we are not cold and calculating beings - we are not computers! - and we often act in ways that are not in our objective best interests (just look at the current health-care debate), yet we do nonetheless because it makes us feel safer and more comfortable.

The difference between holding data in a cloud and on a computer in our office or home may be objectively negligible, but it is not subjectively insignificant. And, though I hold a Ph.D. in Psychology, I am not immune to such forces. Just the thought of a cloud, so ephemeral and insubstantial, makes me feel vulnerable. Of course, it's irrational, but that's not the point. The point is not just what makes our data most objectively secure, but also what puts us most subjectively at ease.

I would also argue that the difference isn't entirely illusory. With hardware, there's little between us and our data; at least we know where it is and can hold it, indirectly, in our hands.  And our data's within our control; we can do with it what we will when we want. We aren't dependent on anyone or anything else to access it. Also, if we lose it, we lose it - it's our fault - and we can't blame some amorphous company or server. That may seem trivial to technologists, but I can assure you that it is not inconsequential to your typical computer user. And if data is lost, we know that it's somewhere in our hard drive, not in some amorphous place in a cloud, and we may even be able to retrieve it (with a little help from our friendly neighborhood computer whiz or Geek Squad). Better that than hoping those oh-so-reliable computer and communication companies (I'm being facetious, of course) at the other end of a customer-service call or live-chat link will find it for us.

As someone wise once said, "Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should." Well, there's no stopping progress, but that doesn't mean we should jump on board just because it's the Next Big Thing. The cloud may be the future of computing, but until that cloud has more solid footing and I can be confident that such a big part of myself will be safe, I will keep my feet - and my data - planted firmly on the ground.