4 ms·

> A "smart", unnecessarily Internet-connected kettle or lightbulb or juicer isn't going to usher the second coming of fascism to the Western world. Each indivi

> A "smart", unnecessarily Internet-connected kettle or lightbulb or juicer isn't going to usher the second coming of fascism to the Western world. Each individual one isn't, but in aggregate they start transferring more and more control over your daily activities to faceless corporations thousands of miles away. That is dystopian.

TeMPOraL 9y ago
Thing is, most of that isn't dystopian. I can sort of buy people feeling orwellian about Alexa or Google Assistant - but as it is now, most IoT is just random startups hoping that if they abuse some users through a SaaS, they'll get to be the next Google. It never works out, and we're left with tons of electronic junk, that shouldn't even exist in the first place.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  >most of that isn't dystopian Remember that time a city in CA sent Cointelpro-esqe letters to the registered owner for vehicles their plate readers recorded going down a particular street? There's nothing that prevents similar bad behavior from HOAs or cities/towns that have access to other data sets. I don't want a HOA sending me brochures about recycling because my smart house reports that my ratio of trash to recyclables doesn't meet some arbitrary value. What goes on within the privacy my home is my business and mine alone to the fullest extent possible. You can't abuse a data set you don't have. The value to society vs the potential harm of many datasets is so low they shouldn't exist at all.
  - alsetmusic 9y ago
    > Remember that time a city in CA sent Cointelpro-esqe letters to the registered owner for vehicles their plate readers recorded going down a particular street? No, I don’t. I’m guessing others might not, as well. Can you please supply a link?
    - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
      https://www.computerworld.com/article/3011394/security/las-plan-to-scan-license-plates-and-send-dear-prostitute-seeking-john-letters.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/3011394/security/las-p... It was the first result so it might not be the best article.
imgabe 9y ago
In what way is control of your daily activities transferred away by a smart kettle? Is it not going to boil the water when I want to boil the water? If it doesn't, I'll throw it away and get a regular kettle. That's pretty much the only daily activity my kettle is involved in and no amount of Internet connection is going to remove my control of it.
- mamon 9y ago
  But what if smart kettles would became so popular that regular kettles would not be produced anymore? How would you replace it then? Or, more importantly: how about "smart" lightbulbs, door locks, refridgerators? Those are much harder to replace.
  - KozmoNau7 9y ago
    How would they? What value does being "smart" add to a kettle or fridge?
    - dvtv75 9y ago
      Imagine this: you're on your way home, it's a cold and wet winter night, you're dashing from the bus stop to your home and you want a hot cup when you get home. Just trigger the kettle to fill and boil enough for you with the app on your phone, and you'll be warm that much faster when you get in the door. Maybe there's an autocoffee model, which makes your coffee to your preferences, and you get it to pre-boil while you're heading for home. Using the GPS on your phone with your average walking speed, it calculates when you'll be home so your coffee (or tea or hot chocolate) are just cooling to the perfect temperature when you walk in the door. You may think it won't happen, but how many would use an autokettle? I wouldn't, as I don't often drink hot drinks, but my mother might because she won't have to hobble around. A blind person might, too, for a similar reason. People who prefer consistent drinks would - I have one particular friend who hates Starbucks but drinks there anyway, because it's always exactly the same.
      - KozmoNau7 9y ago

TeMPOraL 9y ago

Thing is, most of that isn't dystopian. I can sort of buy people feeling orwellian about Alexa or Google Assistant - but as it is now, most IoT is just random startups hoping that if they abuse some users through a SaaS, they'll get to be the next Google. It never works out, and we're left with tons of electronic junk, that shouldn't even exist in the first place.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago
>most of that isn't dystopian Remember that time a city in CA sent Cointelpro-esqe letters to the registered owner for vehicles their plate readers recorded going down a particular street? There's nothing that prevents similar bad behavior from HOAs or cities/towns that have access to other data sets. I don't want a HOA sending me brochures about recycling because my smart house reports that my ratio of trash to recyclables doesn't meet some arbitrary value. What goes on within the privacy my home is my business and mine alone to the fullest extent possible. You can't abuse a data set you don't have. The value to society vs the potential harm of many datasets is so low they shouldn't exist at all.
- alsetmusic 9y ago
  > Remember that time a city in CA sent Cointelpro-esqe letters to the registered owner for vehicles their plate readers recorded going down a particular street? No, I don’t. I’m guessing others might not, as well. Can you please supply a link?
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    https://www.computerworld.com/article/3011394/security/las-plan-to-scan-license-plates-and-send-dear-prostitute-seeking-john-letters.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/3011394/security/las-p... It was the first result so it might not be the best article.

imgabe 9y ago

In what way is control of your daily activities transferred away by a smart kettle? Is it not going to boil the water when I want to boil the water? If it doesn't, I'll throw it away and get a regular kettle. That's pretty much the only daily activity my kettle is involved in and no amount of Internet connection is going to remove my control of it.

mamon 9y ago
But what if smart kettles would became so popular that regular kettles would not be produced anymore? How would you replace it then? Or, more importantly: how about "smart" lightbulbs, door locks, refridgerators? Those are much harder to replace.
- KozmoNau7 9y ago
  How would they? What value does being "smart" add to a kettle or fridge?
  - dvtv75 9y ago
    Imagine this: you're on your way home, it's a cold and wet winter night, you're dashing from the bus stop to your home and you want a hot cup when you get home. Just trigger the kettle to fill and boil enough for you with the app on your phone, and you'll be warm that much faster when you get in the door. Maybe there's an autocoffee model, which makes your coffee to your preferences, and you get it to pre-boil while you're heading for home. Using the GPS on your phone with your average walking speed, it calculates when you'll be home so your coffee (or tea or hot chocolate) are just cooling to the perfect temperature when you walk in the door. You may think it won't happen, but how many would use an autokettle? I wouldn't, as I don't often drink hot drinks, but my mother might because she won't have to hobble around. A blind person might, too, for a similar reason. People who prefer consistent drinks would - I have one particular friend who hates Starbucks but drinks there anyway, because it's always exactly the same.
    - KozmoNau7 9y ago