Stupid Smart Devices That Exemplify Why Connecting Everything to the Internet Is a Bad Idea

Decades ago, the more optimistic futurists probably thought that we’d eventually be living on space settlements in a scarcity-free utopia where robots do all the work for us and no one wants for anything. Few predicted that the future would look more like accepting «terms and conditions» before ordering a cheeseburger at the drive-thru, or …
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Dystopian Times Connecting Objects to the Internet Went Extremely Wrong

While it is true that a home that calibrates its vibe to your liking as soon as you walk in the door sounds like a cool, futuristic detail from a Philip K. Dick story, but in reality it looks like a refrigerator that blue-screens every time you try to open it and shower that forces …
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Dystopian Times Connecting Objects to the Internet Went Very, Very Wrong

While it is true that a home that calibrates its vibe to your liking as soon as you walk in the door sounds like a cool, futuristic detail from a Philip K. Dick story, but in reality it looks like a refrigerator that blue-screens every time you try to open it and shower that forces …
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Ridiculous Times ‘Smart Devices’ Were Laughably Dumb

They say capitalism breeds innovation, but the need to spend extra time answering your smart dishwasher’s product survey in order for the thing to function hardly feels «innovative.» They say artificial intelligence is going to replace humans, but a pathetic little robot that needs a human to help it out of the snow doesn’t seem …
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Dystopian Times Connecting Objects to the Internet Went Wrong

While it is true that a home that calibrates its vibe to your liking as soon as you walk in the door sounds like a cool, futuristic detail from a Philip K. Dick story, but in reality it looks like a refrigerator that blue-screens every time you try to open it and shower that forces …
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20+ Times ‘Smart Devices’ Were Laughably Dumb

They say capitalism breeds innovation, but the need to spend extra time answering your smart dishwasher’s product survey in order for the thing to function hardly feels «innovative.» They say artificial intelligence is going to replace humans, but a pathetic little robot that needs a human to help it out of the snow doesn’t seem …
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Amazon’s Alexa Tells Child to Touch Live Electrical Plug With Penny

When a 10-year-old girl asked Amazon’s Alexa to give her a ‘challenge,’ her mother was shocked when the device told her daughter to ‘plug in a phone charger about halfway into a wall outlet, then touch a penny to the exposed prongs.’ Sounds like something an evil possessed appliance straight out of Maximum Overdrive would say. …
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People Are Bewildered by TikToker’s Excessive Smart Home Gadgets

While I’m still sweeping my kitchen floor with a basic, dollar-store broom, some gadget-obsessed people out there are living in futuristic ‘smart homes’ where devices have their own devices. TikTok account @shopping666 advertises a vast array of absurdly specific household gadgets through a series of videos in which people demonstrate the usefulness of the products …
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30+ Times Connecting Objects to the Internet Went Wrong

A home that calibrates its vibe to your liking as soon as you walk in the door sounds like a cool, futuristic detail from a Philip K. Dick story, but in reality it looks like a refrigerator that blue-screens every time you try to open it and shower that forces you to watch three commercials …
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20 Reasons Why ‘Smart Devices’ Are Actually Dumb As Hell

What’s the point of ‘smart’ and ‘connected’ objects? Are they supposed to help us get through menial tasks more efficiently, or have the capitalists figured out a clever way to perpetually profit off the objects we use on a daily basis? Sometimes it feels like the latter. When your printer holds your ink cartridge hostage …
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