"Why can't we just do it the old way" isn't the best argument for halting attempts at innovation. Before we can have the IoT we see in movies, we have to have gradual iterative progress in the way we think of/use the tech.
Which summarizes to: Why can't we just do it the old way
To which I responded. Again, summary: it's silly to complain about new things being different than the things that came before them, and the only way to make the new stuff great is to make a bunch of new stuff and see what sticks.
To me, that summarises to Why can't we do it the simple way?
On the plus side, they run on renewable rather than fossil fuels.
I mean, IoT will have a great potential to provide meaningful services with a great deal of convenience only if the things become as inter-operable as plug-pins and sockets.