You are conflating automation with remote control. Replacing a lightswitch with an app that requires human interaction is indeed ridiculous. Replacing a light

You are conflating automation with remote control. Replacing a lightswitch with an app that requires human interaction is indeed ridiculous. Replacing a lightswitch with a motion sensor has been a staple feature of commercial buildings for decades. Similar for heating control, occupancy detection, adaptive lighting, energy management, etc. Replacing a physical entity without adding any value to it is pointless, hence the 'automation' part of the phrase