Why a Dumb House Is Actually a Smart Idea
▼ Summary
– The author expresses frustration with voice-activated home automation systems and sensors that fail to recognize her, preferring manual controls like light switches.
– Designer Thomas Yang supports the author’s view, arguing that physical switches provide “honesty and agency” and are not dependent on servers.
– The author criticizes smart devices like a smart scale, noting they become useless if Wi-Fi is down and raise security concerns about hacking.
– Futurist Shelly Palmer highlights a gap between demo AI robotics and shippable products, but companies like LG aim for a “Zero Labor Home” with humanoid robots.
– The author observes that viral videos of failing robots amuse people now, but questions whether that will continue as robots become more capable.
Every January, my husband Harry, who works in tech, heads to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This year, over 4,100 exhibitors packed 2.6 million square feet with the promise that soon, everything in your home will sync with voice-activated AI like Siri, Alexa, or HomePod. The latest home automation systems boast sensors and sleek iPad controls.
For me, that future feels like a glitch. A tiny photoelectric cell that requires frantic waving rarely registers my presence, as if I’m not human temperature. My superpower is being invisible to bartenders at parties, and I’m equally unsuited for this so-called smart home. I’ve been locked out of my iPad for a decade, routinely forget passwords, including the one for my password manager, and my email still ends in @aol.com.
I want a dumb house.
Designer Thomas Yang agrees. “There is an honesty and an agency that comes with a light switch,” he says. “A tactile action and interaction with the world of materials that is not dependent on a server.” Personally, I feel virtuous just getting up from the couch to adjust a dimmer.
Harry bought us a smart scale. It sounds harmless, but I’m not thrilled about hackers blackmailing me over an extra scoop of rocky road. A more practical worry: if your Wi-Fi goes down, you can’t weigh yourself that morning. Or open your front door. I miss keys. I like landlines that don’t heat up, potentially giving me an iPhone-shaped brain tumor. That’s just the tip of the digital iceberg.
This piece is part of The Future of Home, a collaboration between WIRED and Architectural Digest exploring what “home” will mean tomorrow.
Shelly Palmer, a futurist who consults for Microsoft, explains AI trends to corporate leaders. His widely-read newsletter notes a gap between demo AI robotics and shippable products, but the goal, as LG calls it, is the “Zero Labor Home.” South Korea has invested $770 million in humanoid robot development, predicting massive growth. Unitree, a Chinese company, markets one for light industrial tasks. But as far as I can tell, no model yet loads or unloads the dishwasher, sorting flatware and nesting spoons. Besides, if I were home minding my own business while a fleet of robots cleaned around me, I’d panic. It feels like being left vehicle-less in a bumper-car rink. I’m too old for a Jetsons’ world.
Then again, you’ve probably seen that viral video of a robot waiter melting down in a Cupertino restaurant, home of Apple, or the Russian contraption face-planting during its hyped debut. When humanoids falter, fail, or freak out, we laugh. It’s funny, yes, but also because we feel superior and they look stupid. For now. I’m not sure we’ll keep cackling when our friends have robots that iron all the laundry, without complaint.
(Source: Wired)