Science fiction typically presents a distant future in which the machines overrun the planet. Well, according to CTIA ^[1], a wireless industry association, the future is now. There are now 327.6 million wireless connections, which means 103.9 percent of the U.S. population. This is a 9 percent increase over last year. That’s right, there are now more wireless devices than there are people in the U.S.

Before you get alarmed, there’s a (somewhat) good reason for the skewed numbers. Many users typically have more than one mobile device: a smart phone, laptop, e-reader, etc. For example, I count an Android smart phone, a Samsung “burner,” an iPod touch, and a MacBook in my arsenal. Anther reason could be the fact that carriers don’t allow users to have an “omnibus” plan that lets them connect all their devices, says Quentin Hardy at The New York Times.

Still, the numbers should make you pause. Or at the very least, cue up the Matrix trilogy.

Read more at The New York Times ^[2].