So maybe it’s time we finally changed the way we talk about the Internet of Things (IoT). We keep talking about it as something achievable. Perhaps it’s time we started talking about what it really is: one of the biggest consumer scams ever invented.
Oh, I really want smart homes to be a thing. But Om is right. It’s a shoddy mess at the moment.
@adders It’s one thing to control the lights (although we once had the Clapper) but our dish washers, toasters, door locks etc., just do not really need the Internet. There are better things to spend our time on.
@adders As I wrote over ten years ago, most of what I want from a “smart home” can be achieved with dumb things.
@patrickrhone @adders one of the insights I found enlightening in Andy Crouch’s “The Life We’re Looking For” is that as humans we have to adapt for most technology (rather than just have it adapt to us). I think the “smart home” is a great example of this where we adapt our habits like changing our floor layout for our robot vacuum cleaner so it doesn’t get blocked.
@ChrisJWilson This begs the question at to the definition of “smart” in this case.
I’d argue the “smart” one is the one doing the adapting.
@ChrisJWilson @patrickrhone I haven’t read Crouch’s book, but isn’t that just true of all technology adoption? We invent the tech, we find uses for it, and then we adapt our lives based on its use. Suddenly I’m redesigning my house and my night-time habits because indoor plumbing means I no longer have to go out and use the privy. Is that adaptation a bad thing? The issue isn’t adapting to use tech, it’s whether the tradeoff is worth it. To use your example, is it worth reorganizing your floor layout to get the benefit of a robot vacuum? There’s not a right/wrong answer to that question.
@patrickrhone good post, completely agree. We have a couple smart lights that we can control remotely, which is handy when we are out of town. Otherwise? There’s not a lot that isn’t just easier to control the old fashioned way.
@cjhubbs @patrickrhone yes, there’s truth to it for all technology but Andy’s point is that most of us don’t consider this before adopting technology. The smart vacuum example is actually an example highlighting how Autonomous Vehicles are likely to lead to a radical redesign of roads and cities as unpredictable humans and animals are the biggest challenges. This redesign would like reduce face to face interactions as we can see that trend in cities now where more modern cities tend to deprioritise walking and local connections.
The thing I find amusing about the smart vacuum cleaner is developing a habit of tidying the floor so your robot — servant — can do its job. Yes, we do this when we tidy up ourselves but the idea that you change your habits to serve the technology not just to have the technology serve you.