The PROBLEM with Smart Home Tech

Smart home tech, such as the Amazon Alexa or the Google Home, has been around for quite some time now - and there always seems to be more gadgets to buy and features to try out. Today we get into if these items worth the investment, if they're listening to our every move and plotting against us, and more!

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Script: Holly Maley
Editor: Kim Su + Kirsten Stanley
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand

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[NCPhotography]

My wife was blind and physically disabled and we had the entire home set up with smart devices. It really helped make her life normal she could control the entire home with her voice from the microwave, air fryer, washing machine, thermostat, lights, find out who's at the door and so much more. She loved to shop with Alexa and it's very important that these devices keep improving because the effect they have on disabled people and their families is night and day.

[RB-vogi]

The truth is that these technologies SHOULD be exciting. The reason these progressions are so creepy is because of the companies behind them. And you know, people can tell me that my phone isn’t listening to me, but I have merely talked about things in front of it (things I’ve never looked up and it would have no reason to think I would be interested in), only for it to pop up something in my Google feed or YouTube suggested a day later.

[arraine]

It's really important to remember that sometimes "convenience", aka "nice but optional", should really be replaced by "accessibility" aka "life-changing". Smart lighting, outlets, and HVAC alone have freed up critical energy for me to do things like feed myself and get myself more water, because when you're disabled, every trip across the room counts. The smart vacuum, which actually makes me more nervous, keeps the air cleaner to keep my disabled lungs safe and frees up a ton of energy. In the absence of the communal living we've been robbed of that might rely on human labor to assist the disabled, I think we should put energy into protecting the privacy and well-being of people whose lives are so improved by these devices, rather than condemning them.

In my experience and reading, there's nothing my current smart devices can collect that my phone isn't already doing. To mitigate my risk, I keep my tech in the same company's ecosystem to limit the number of parties with my data, and never use devices that can't be controlled in an analog way. I'm not letting smart devices control my front door lock (though I am looking for more accessible keys, because my hands do not like keys), so no company can ever keep me out of my house or let someone else in.

[megan]

I have ADHD and struggle with time management. The thing that made me go through all the effort of swapping all my lights over to smart lights (controlled by my google home), was when someone in an ADHD group said they set their lights to dim 1 hour before bedtime to remind them to start their evening routine.

Absolute game changer

[Notcoral]

I’m glad you brought up the potential abuse of this technology that can happen in abusive relationships because an old roommate of mine used our simplisafe system to listen to conversations his gf was having while he was out of town. 😬

[Xanderqwerty]

If you want to automate your house, but dont trust big companies (as you shouldn't) you can make an Alexa replacement yourself with open source software and a Raspberry pi. Its a little involved but there are plenty of guides and options for your experience or needs. And its a new hobby if you need another one of those.

[erin_aivallone]

The whole doing mundane things to ground yourself really speaks to me, personally. I don't own a smart watch, nor am I going to because I feel the temptation would be there to mess around with my smart devices in work or if I go out on a walk. Disconnecting yourself when you're doing other things serves a really nice mental break from the life we lead today. Great video!

[krispy]

Whoever decided to put the Emperor’s New Groove scene in, I appreciate you.

[MementoVivere.]

I will tell you as a current technician at Apple and having had worked with software engineering - Siri does not listen to you nor collect much information. It’s why it’s the worse of all of the AI systems.

[jonathanmoore]

Don't forget that smart homes add accessibility for disabled people. Imagine being able to turn off the lights with your voice when previously you relied on someone's help. These things can be the difference between independence and dependence for some people

[PerfectorZY]

One thing you can do, and this is what so do, is run a server in your own. I have a raspberry pi and it’s through that I can retain the functionality I want while revoking the data. Things like pi hole, home assistant, writing your own code to do something, here are even voice assistants you can run and be in control of your own data.

[petyamiteva]

I don’t think we are just thinking that our smart phones listen to us. My partner and I have tested it on multiple occasions where we say we are looking to buy something and seconds later, ads for said thing appear on our social media. And it can’t be based on anything else because we’ve literally said items we would never have actually looked up because we don’t really want them at all. The contrary.

[joermnyc]

My father’s cousin’s college age daughter is named Alexa, being in a house with an Amazon smart device gets very confusing for her and it.

[wnderward]

As an avid smart home nerd I use two different platforms: Apple’s HomeKit and Home Assistant. HomeKit claims to be run locally and not use the cloud (although there are products that do still talk with a cloud, just no apple cloud). Home assistant is great because they bring together products that dont normally work and is much easier to get local products that dont use a cloud. Still in the process of migrating away from cloud options but some of the products that I love are nanoleaf, eve, Philips hue all come to mind. With Matter (new smart home standard) released we should see much more locally controlled devices roll out.

[NatLeRat]

BRO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE VIDEO YOU TRIGGERED A RANDOM SMART DEVICE IN MY HOUSE THAT I DIDNT KNOW WE HAD. I STILL DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT IT WAS???

[elijahdelacruz]

Smart home tech is too sketchy and scary for my taste in terms of privacy. You’re right, literally every sci fi movie ever warned us of this level of automation and scary monitoring. Even an episode of mickey mouse back then has his whole smart home turn on him, and that was a kids show.

[DeadKoby]

I work in IT... and have for over 20 years. I keep my home very simple, and my appliances very basic. Simple is usually more reliable.

[Gamingraptorstudios]

You guys are really amazing at picking topics. Ever since I've subbed there hasn't been a video that hasn't caught my interest

[Huggible]

I understand the advantages of having smart tech to a degree. I've always been hesitant and don't want to depend on technology to do certain things for me. Even my phone listens/knows where I am even after disabling as many settings as I can to not have certain information given back to companies. It's ridiculous! The movie WALL-E is a great example of where our future is heading.

[memandylov]

When I lived with my cousin, all the lights in the house were connected to a Google home device, and honestly that was the best thing for me. The bulbs we used had options for different colors and adjustable brightness, and I fully took advantage of those features. I'm pretty sensitive to light, so I always kept the lights in my room on the lowest setting when they were on, which was plenty of light to see, but not enough to be overwhelming, so I was always comfortable. I also disdain artificial warm lighting, so I loved having the flexibility to change the hue to a color I found pleasant.
My roommate also had his air conditioner set up to the Google home device so he could turn it off when he went to work and use Google home to turn it back on about half an hour before he got home so his room would always be comfortable for him while he was there but wouldn't drain power when he was away.
The only annoying part about having all the lights controlled through the internet was that any time the power went out, when it came back on, all of the lights in the house would turn on because you have to leave the switch on for the device to control it, and until the internet connection is restored, you just have to deal with being blinded. It's a very strange feeling when the lights suddenly turn ON in the middle of the night and that's how you find out the power went out.