Smart Homes

The term smart home refers to a place of residence where amenities such as electricity, computers, security systems, and entertainment systems can interact with each other through an online application or a device. The concept has been praised for its attention to convenience and efficiency and continues to add more features to existing technologies each year. However, smart homes have received much criticism in the areas of privacy and ethics.

History

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is a network of devices with internet capability that communicate with one another and exchange data to create a fluid, seamless experience for the user. The internet of things allows devices to be accessed remotely due to the ability to access them from the web. In the case of smart homes, smart devices that function in communication with one another comprise a prominent part of the internet of things.

Today's Technology

Nest Labs

Her movie poster

Nest Labs is a home automation company specializing in self-learning, programmable, Wi-Fi compatible thermostats, smoke detectors, and security cameras. Their first and most popular product, the 2011 Nest Thermostat optimizes heating and cooling to minimize cost and conserve energy. The device utilizes machine learning to automate temperature regulation based on the user's schedule and preferences. Following a week of manual temperature control, the device uses the collected data to schedule temperature regulation based on the user's patterns. Nest products contribute to the Internet of Things in that they are compatible with a wide array of smart home products that collectively automate and interconnect many different household technologies including lights, locks, fire alarms, blinds, laundry machines, dishwashers, and coffee pots.

The ability of Nest Labs products to communicate with one another and utilize the Web calls to question the ethical concerns of using such products. Access to the internet provides a pathway for hackers to breach the privacy of any data stored on these smart home devices. Additionally, smart devices such as locks that can be controlled remotely causes a safety concern with respect to home invasion and theft.

Ethical Concerns

Privacy

Smart homes are comprised of interconnected devices spanning from locks, to blinds, to the thermostat. When these devices are also connected to the internet however, a massive security risk is created. Not only do smart homes give hackers a new avenue to extract personal information, they also create the opportunity to breach smart devices that control physical security barriers, such as smart locks and doors. While the ability to encrypt these devices and bolster security is there, these measures are seldom taken to the extent of cellphone or laptop security. Strengthening the security features of smart devices is a longer, more costly process that most manufacturers do not tend to focus on. It has been found in studies that bypassing the simple security of these smart devices is simple to accomplish. For this reason, smart homes raise viable questions about privacy and security on the Internet of Things.

Popular Culture

Smart House (film)

Smart House is a 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie about a family that wins a fully-intelligent, computerized Smart House to live in. The story follows the family following the loss of their mother, and explores the house's increasing role in the family's life as it attempts to emulate the maternal role. The house eventually becomes so powerful and consumed in its role as the family's mother that it must be shut down. The movie explores some of the ethical dilemmas surrounding smart homes, as well as the dystopian theme in which technology develops human emotion and aims to over power the human race.

Her (film)

Her movie poster

Her is a 2013 science-fiction drama film about a Theodore, a man who develops a romantic relationship with Samantha, his intelligent computer operating system. Samantha utilizes artificial intelligence to learn and evolve from its experiences. Theodore and Samantha grow intimate, sharing conversations about life and philosophy; Theodore falls in love with Samantha. As the plot progresses, Samantha continues to grow more powerful and intelligent, and yearns for more stimulation. She upgrades her software to a "hyperintelligent" operating system, and eventually shares with Theodore that she must depart to a space beyond the physical world. Her explores the imaginative side of artificial intelligence, in which technology gains the ability to think and feel for itself. The movie also displays the manner in which the operating system increases intelligence at an exponential rate, to the point where it evolves well beyond the intellectual capacity of human beings.