CES 2017: Has technology reached ‘peak smart’?

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Ian says:

The CES has been notable in past years for creating ideas that became essential. Vast fortunes have been built in that way, and so creative individuals have never been more inspired to get creative.

However, new ideas tend to go in one of two directions: the ‘That’s a great idea!’ pile or the ‘Okay; what’s that for again?’ heap. I suspect it’s never been any different, and the image of Victor Borge with his infamous telephone call by Sir Walter Raleigh to the Queen attempting to explain what a potato was comes to mind.

But advanced as the home is becoming, the holy grails of Smart devices remain tantalisingly out of reach. The autonomous robot, the stuff of SciFi and Asimov, will almost certainly sell in billions if an affordable and stable device ever comes to market. VR might well be supplanted by ER – Enhanced Reality – which, if a way could be found of projecting directly onto retinas, could be another multi-trillion market. True holographic TV – first mooted in the late 1950s – remains as far away as ever, with the issues surrounding the reproduction of stable, moving fully-formed three dimensional imagery being way beyond out current technology.

But with all the seemingly magical advances in iThings (generic, not Apple) come the associated issues of privacy and safety. All iThings communicate with the outside world and all iThings send back information to that world. Although you might not think it matters, sadly the ne’re do wells working for some companies will seize on the golden opportunities offered by threatening to create havoc unless paid not to do so.

The ransomware virus, which currently affects only data, could assume a far more menacing visage, it it were to tell your iFridge to ignore poultry going off, or even contaminate the milk. If we move towards total reliance on this sort of technology, how long before we stop checking for possible smells and other signs of danger?

A future for we all have to remain on guard .

John Ward says:

CES 2017? I thought Which? Conversation had been requested by a recent contributor to spell out abbreviations on first appearance. The initials “CES” stand for “Consumer Electronics Show” which sounds dreadfully old-fashioned nowadays so it’s not surprising that it’s been air-brushed out to an unpronounceable acronym. However, one might have expected a leading consumer representative organisation to try to hold onto the name for a moment at least.

VynorHill says:

All fears of outside interference are fully justified and these are eloquently described in the posts above. For me, the test of a good automation is whether I am happy with the way I do things at present… if it ain’t broke… or whether I can see a genuine improvement in efficiency, labour saving or enjoyment by accessing the new technology. To an extent, this has to be invented and presented to us to give an opportunity to decide on its merits and then market forces take over. Sitting here at the moment I’m hard pressed to think of much that I want to change. I certainly don’t want everything connected up. Life is generally compartmentalised -work -shopping – domestic chores – leisure activities etc and I see no reason to combine any of these using smart devices. Being in control of what happens is important to me and, currently, if I want reminding I’ll write it down somewhere and leave it in an obvious place. I’ll make a decision whether to replace an item and I’ll soon know if I forget. All my domestic appliances work well and separately. Why should they need to talk to each other? There is a dubious advantage in letting the phone control heating and lighting and security from afar, especially if someone else can do the same by a hack or two, and I can’t think of many times when I might find this of much use. Keep things simple and there’s less to go wrong. I’m not quite on the fence but more this side of it than that at present.

John Ward says:

As I have commented many times before, the only thing we need on the fridge is the day’s date or a small calendar. I think we can manage the rest from there so long as we have our faculties.

As for the GeniCan [the intelligent pedal bin], what I want is one that opens the lid as I approach it and closes it with a “thank you”. How can it tell whether we need a replacement for a discarded item or are throwing it away because we don’t like it and certainly won’t buy it again? In any case, the packaging goes in the recycling bin not the rubbish bin, so if the GeniCan scans the old light bulbs, eggshells, broken shoelaces, dolls eyes, fly-paper, buttons, and bows the shopping list is going to read like something out of the Sound of Music. Breaks the ice in Sainsbury’s I suppose.

Recent messages to enrich and extend our lives are to keep the brain active; I doubt we have reached ‘peak smart’ yet but I think we should be a bit wary of it. Evolution can work both ways.

DerekP says:

According to Which? Pedal Bin magazine:

“All the bins in smart homes have a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you, and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done.”

User 66219 says:

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wavechange says:

I don’t think Douglas Adams was at CES 2017. 🙁

DerekP says:

“I don’t think Douglas Adams was at CES 2017.”

Sadly true. As an early commentator on the very first digital watches (those that required two handed use) he would have had a field day.

He did, of course, predict the ultimate demise of unduly materialistic societies and the formation of distinctive archaeological remains from them, i.e. “the shoe event horizon”.

Given his views on cybernetic doors and drinks machines, I bet he would have enjoyed making fun of IoT devices and their advocates.

wavechange says:

In his absence, we will have to make the fun for him. Our unduly materialistic society is still under development, but the marketing team is working on it.

bishbut says:

Smart tech will go on and on as long as there are lazy people and those with more money than sense to buy it The companies will keep coming up with ideas to take some peoples ,money from them even if the things they try to sell are not needed at all and probably never get used maybe just once

Ian says:

John: our new IKEA kitchen has a bin drawer below the sink that opens with just a nudge of the knee. I do have a motion sensor which I could fit but that could cause issues if it did it all the time.

John Ward says:

That sounds handy, Ian, – kneely perfect in fact. Does it close itself after ten seconds or is manual effort required? I hope it plays “My Ol’ Man’s a Dustman” as it performs its magic tricks.

[PS : Don’t tell Alfa or she’ll want one in her new kitchen.]

Ian says:

🙂 I was hoping it would say something on the lines of ‘Whaddyou think of the show so far? Rubbish!” but sadly, no. It has assisted closing – a gentle nudge with the knee again and it closes. It’s actually an example of extremely useful technology, since I always worried about disposing of chicken wrappers without touching cupboard handles. That’s all now a thing of the past as I simply nudge the drawer, which shoots out, effectively knee-capping me, then allows the contaminated chicken giblets to land on whichever part of my anatomy is in the requisite spot as I crumple to the floor, muttering about Swedish innovation.

No, seriously – its a pretty neat idea and one that does allow disposal of nasties without extra contamination. Our tap has bars and the soap is dispensed electronically, so we keep possible food poisoning down to when we need it – usually if Great Aunt Griselda threatens to visit. Last time she came we had the mice throwing themselves on the traps…

alfa says:

I heard that 🙂

malcolm r says:

Pardon?

Ully Jorimann says:

I am reading so much about the smartification of so many areas in our lives and it might give some people the impression they can no longer do without it – but how much serious thought has been given to what all this connecting up could do to our data privacy? These connections can be captured, harvested or even hacked – do we really need to have all this data available to be scrutinised by unknown parties for commercial or even criminal purposes, however convenient the smart functions might be?

Patrick Taylor says:

Another side of the smart appliances recording what we buy, eat and what we do, is the assumption supplying this information is good.

” “Algorithms are sharing information so quickly that consumers are not aware of the competition,” says Mr Stucke. “Two gas stations that are across the street from each other are already familiar with this.”
This episode suggests that the availability of perfect information, a hallmark of free market theory, might harm rather than empower consumers. If the concern is borne out, a central assumption of the digital economy — that technology lowers prices and expands choices — could be upended.”
https://www.ft.com/content/9de9fb80-cd23-11e6-864f-20dcb35cede2?

A well thought out article which bears reading as it illustrates the manipulation that has and will take place by virtue of AI playing with data. I wish that Which? would actually ask for permission to re-print it as it affects all consumers so why not tell our subscribers.

wavechange says:

I am interested by technological development but I think I will let others do the initial testing and decide later whether to spend my money. Unfortunately, most innovations are produced primarily to make money and everything else is secondary. It would be interesting to re-engineer the GeniCan to promote effective recycling rather than simply ordering from supermarkets. The novelty might just help people recycle more of their waste. Once you are in the habit of recycling, you are likely to continue.

I am surprised by the popularity of heating systems that can be controlled by mobile phone. I turn down my heating when I go out and turn on again when I get home. In my previous home I did install a fairly complex programmer but the one thing it would not cope with is that I’m not a creature of habit, so I would either waste gas heating an empty home or arrive before the heating came on. I decided that it was easier just to turn on the heating when I got home and rely on the ability of my body to cope for the relatively short period needed for the radiators to do their job. I have a very similar programmer in my new home and have never bothered to set it since I moved in, the best part of a year ago.

I do not need a fridge that monitors the milk supply. I use a maximum and minimum thermometer to monitor the temperature of the fridge and set it as cool as possible without freezing the contents. If I do run out, there will be a small bottle in the freezer. If that has been used then it’s a trip to the village shop or the carton of UHT milk kept for when I get back from holiday.

I wonder how much new technology is discarded once the novelty wears off or it does not live up to expectations.

malcolm r says:

Most of us have got pretty good NI – natural intelligence – useful to do many of the jobs we need to accomplish. Perhaps we could have an exhibition to demonstrate just how versatile and useful that can be.

wavechange says:

I agree, Malcolm. There is no doubt that modern technology can help give us the time to practise our skills and share them with others, but often that time is spent sitting in front of the TV or the computer. 🙁 I had better go and do something useful.

malcolm r says:

I’ve finally finished spreading 4 tons of cow manure and pruning the raspberries (a bit early) so exchanging brawn for brain for a few minutes. 🙂

wavechange says:

I think I would prefer a little cream on my raspberries.

Ian says:

Hmmmm… Dung flavoured Mivvi, perhaps?

Beryl says:

Modern technology is fine when it works but it does cause people to become dependent upon it once established, which leads to frustration and annoyance when it breaks down, and even more so if or when a third party is involved. It can often take hours or sometimes days to repair and/or become connected again in some cases, with computer users having to undergo all the additional but necessary security checks to establish identification

What I find more worrying is where technology will lead to in the future. Scientists are already showing concerns about the amount of orbital debris that is currently encircling 220 miles above the Earth and increasing, at 8km a second. They predict its only a matter of time before a piece of space junk travelling at 17,000 mph will hit the orbiting satellites that we all have come to depend upon. Ways to break up the larger pieces of junk are in the pipeline but this will just produce smaller and even more lethal debris which, travelling at such speeds can cause catastrophic damage when it collides with any object in its path.

With all navigation systems and weather forecasts now reliant upon these orbital satellites it’s quite a worrying scenario. Our tendency to pollute has now extended into the space above as well as below this beautiful planet we are privileged to inhabit.

User 66219 says:

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Ian says:

For a LASER to take out orbital vehicles it would need two things: immense power and a nice clear day. Most of the tine their power is attenuated by clouds, smog and all sort of other atmospheric issues. Far cheaper and easier are the ground-based anti-sat missile systems. There are currently no feasible ground to space LASER systems.

There are, however, much nastier variants of LASER weapons which cause temporary blindness and use infra red, so you don’t even know you’ve been targeted. Seven Iraq veterans suffered eye damage from hand-held LASERs used by the US military.

Ian says:

On the orbital debris front, it’s not quite as bad as it sounds since a lot of the debris orbits in the same direction, so relative velocities are not as dangerous as you might think. However, it’s fair to say there’s a decent amount of garbage in orbit and even tiny pieces can penetrate shielding on the ISS.

The bigger threat comes for solar storms which can eliminate satellite function completely in seconds.

User 66219 says:

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Ian says:

No, that wasn’t a ground-to-space LASER, Duncan.

There are actually two things there: destroying satellites and destroying drones. All the major powers have LASER cannons and can destroy incoming drones and they’re attempting to ensure they can do the same with Exocet-type missiles. That’s proving tricky, in fact, because of the high rate of atmospheric attenuation, which reduces the LASER to a mild warmth over any sort of significant distance.

The Satellite LASER test is a different beast. None of the three tests the Chinese did involved LASER destruction from the ground. In each case they launched a missile and, although the precise method they used to destroy their satellite hasn’t been determined, it’s thought to be a kinetic kill warhead, similar to what the US and Russia possess.

In fact, space offers the perfect environment for a LASER weapon, since there’d be little to no attenuation, unlike Earth’s atmosphere. So you can sleep easy regarding LASERs, but there are equally as efficient missile systems that can do far more harm.

DerekP says:

I bet by now they’ve got “a laser capable of emitting a beam of pure anti-matter” 😉

Ian says:

🙂 I believe the current interest is in finding out whether anti-matter falls upwards. Gravity’s an odd force, because it only operates one way. Most other forces operate both ways – attraction and repulsion,. but there are several groups interested in finding the fabled ‘anti-gravity’.

User 66219 says: