5 ms·

Except this hasn't happened with electricity, cars, washing machines, smartphones, smart watches, Bluetooth headphones, ... Not all technology is bad

ceejayoz 6mo ago
It has absolutely happened with those things. Cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sceLsLkQf7A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sceLsLkQf7A Fridges: https://fortune.com/2025/09/19/samsung-family-hub-refrigerators-advertisements/ https://fortune.com/2025/09/19/samsung-family-hub-refrigerat... I'm not aware of a smart watch doing first-party ads yet.
- mgraczyk 6mo ago
  I didn't list fridges because I've seen ads there, but these seem to have gone away in newer models (people don't like ads)
  - ceejayoz 6mo ago
    My washing machine's app (LG) has ads, recipes, rewards programs, etc. I think the main thing preventing it on the device itself is they haven't thus far needed a large screen to show them on.
    - lexicality 6mo ago
      Recipes? For washing clothes?
      - ceejayoz 6mo ago
        Yes. LG has a wide line of appliances, so the app has a recipes section.
        hakfoo 6mo ago
        When we first got our LG TV (a fairly cheap 43" LCD with mediocre brightness and WebOS) you could get an app to be the remote control. It was a convenient option when the remote fell under the couch. They discontinued it for some elaborate "ThinQ" app which was designed to support a huge universe of different devices, and it was no longer something my parents could use. I miss when phones had IR blasters; it was fun that I could control my old NAD 7100 reciever, which predated consumer smartphones by a good decade plus.
- DonsDiscountGas 6mo ago
  The existence of a single crappy car does not mean all cars are crappy
  - ceejayoz 6mo ago
    Sure. But the existence of a single crappy car establishes very definitively that a crappy car can and does exist. Do you think Samsung's the only company that's gonna play with ads on their smart fridges?
    - mgraczyk 6mo ago
      It's not a good reason to be skeptical about cars as a technology (and by analogy brain computer interfaces)
      - ceejayoz 6mo ago
        I think it's pretty solid evidence profit-driven orgs will shove ads anywhere they can, regardless of how good that is for users.
  - monooso 6mo ago
    If only it was just a single crappy car. https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/ https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/privacynotincluded/arti...
  - mrweasel 6mo ago
    True, but you can't affort the none crappy one eventually. Basically everything in modern society trends towards either cheap, but shitty, or excellent, but insanely expensive. Our problem is that the used to be a huge middle segment, where you'd pay extra, but you got better quality. That middle segment has more or less disappeared, because it requires a fair bit of volume to be sustainable. Initially we, as in society, got lured in by cheaper prices, and reasonable quality, supported by savings in running super markets vs. a butcher, efficiency gains or subsidizes, maybe in the form of an ad here or there. Once we started expecting lower prices, quality started to go down, but restarting the "pay a little more, for better quality" segment isn't easy.
dgrin91 6mo ago
Electricity I don't know how you could deliver ads through, but if someone could think of a way I bet they would. If everyone knew Morris code I bet they would make the lights flicker in Morris code for a discount. Modern cars with connected infotainment systems are always trying to upsell you Washing machines I dont know of anything at the moment, but I wouldnt count it out. Smartphones/watches? Aren't those just ad delivery mechanisms? Not to mention tracking? Its a core foundation of modern ad technology Headphones are not thank god, I hope it stays that way
- mgraczyk 6mo ago
  I've never seen an ad delivered through any of these things. On smartphones I mean the phone/OS itself It would be very easy to deliver ads via electricity. The utility could require you watch an ad before using more
  - ceejayoz 6mo ago
    Or via your smart thermostat. https://sense.com/consumer-blog/with-your-permission-utilities-can-control-your-smart-thermostat-to-reduce-energy-usage/ https://sense.com/consumer-blog/with-your-permission-utiliti... (Morse code messages via your flickering lights would be a hilarious app, and I'm somewhat reluctant to mention it here before someone gets VC funding to actually try it.)
  - recursive 6mo ago
    > It would be very easy to deliver ads via electricity. The utility could require you watch an ad before using more. That does not sound very easy to me. That sounds barely possible.
    - mrguyorama 6mo ago
      It's trivial Lots of poor people have in residence electricity boxes that require prepayment for usage. In the olden days you put a coin in to turn on the power, but nowadays they have apps and digital payment solutions! They might already have ads in those apps...
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
monooso 6mo ago
Modern cars gather a truly shocking amount of data about their "users", which is then sold to all and sundry, including those wishing to sell you products.
TYPE_FASTER 6mo ago
My LG dryer was using wifi to advertise an extended warranty for itself. Then it broke, maybe I should have bought the warranty? I bought a simpler model without wifi this time.
- mgraczyk 6mo ago
  What are you talking about, in what way is this supposed to be an argument about ads? It sounds like your dryer broke
  - ceejayoz 6mo ago
    The "buy the extended warranty" thing is clearly an ad.

ceejayoz 6mo ago

It has absolutely happened with those things. Cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sceLsLkQf7A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sceLsLkQf7A Fridges: https://fortune.com/2025/09/19/samsung-family-hub-refrigerators-advertisements/ https://fortune.com/2025/09/19/samsung-family-hub-refrigerat... I'm not aware of a smart watch doing first-party ads yet.

mgraczyk 6mo ago
I didn't list fridges because I've seen ads there, but these seem to have gone away in newer models (people don't like ads)
- ceejayoz 6mo ago
  My washing machine's app (LG) has ads, recipes, rewards programs, etc. I think the main thing preventing it on the device itself is they haven't thus far needed a large screen to show them on.
  - lexicality 6mo ago
    Recipes? For washing clothes?
    - ceejayoz 6mo ago
      Yes. LG has a wide line of appliances, so the app has a recipes section.
      - hakfoo 6mo ago
        When we first got our LG TV (a fairly cheap 43" LCD with mediocre brightness and WebOS) you could get an app to be the remote control. It was a convenient option when the remote fell under the couch. They discontinued it for some elaborate "ThinQ" app which was designed to support a huge universe of different devices, and it was no longer something my parents could use. I miss when phones had IR blasters; it was fun that I could control my old NAD 7100 reciever, which predated consumer smartphones by a good decade plus.
DonsDiscountGas 6mo ago
The existence of a single crappy car does not mean all cars are crappy
- ceejayoz 6mo ago
  Sure. But the existence of a single crappy car establishes very definitively that a crappy car can and does exist. Do you think Samsung's the only company that's gonna play with ads on their smart fridges?
  - mgraczyk 6mo ago
    It's not a good reason to be skeptical about cars as a technology (and by analogy brain computer interfaces)
    - ceejayoz 6mo ago
      I think it's pretty solid evidence profit-driven orgs will shove ads anywhere they can, regardless of how good that is for users.
- monooso 6mo ago
  If only it was just a single crappy car. https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/ https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/privacynotincluded/arti...
- mrweasel 6mo ago
  True, but you can't affort the none crappy one eventually. Basically everything in modern society trends towards either cheap, but shitty, or excellent, but insanely expensive. Our problem is that the used to be a huge middle segment, where you'd pay extra, but you got better quality. That middle segment has more or less disappeared, because it requires a fair bit of volume to be sustainable. Initially we, as in society, got lured in by cheaper prices, and reasonable quality, supported by savings in running super markets vs. a butcher, efficiency gains or subsidizes, maybe in the form of an ad here or there. Once we started expecting lower prices, quality started to go down, but restarting the "pay a little more, for better quality" segment isn't easy.

dgrin91 6mo ago

Electricity I don't know how you could deliver ads through, but if someone could think of a way I bet they would. If everyone knew Morris code I bet they would make the lights flicker in Morris code for a discount. Modern cars with connected infotainment systems are always trying to upsell you Washing machines I dont know of anything at the moment, but I wouldnt count it out. Smartphones/watches? Aren't those just ad delivery mechanisms? Not to mention tracking? Its a core foundation of modern ad technology Headphones are not thank god, I hope it stays that way

mgraczyk 6mo ago
I've never seen an ad delivered through any of these things. On smartphones I mean the phone/OS itself It would be very easy to deliver ads via electricity. The utility could require you watch an ad before using more
- ceejayoz 6mo ago
  Or via your smart thermostat. https://sense.com/consumer-blog/with-your-permission-utilities-can-control-your-smart-thermostat-to-reduce-energy-usage/ https://sense.com/consumer-blog/with-your-permission-utiliti... (Morse code messages via your flickering lights would be a hilarious app, and I'm somewhat reluctant to mention it here before someone gets VC funding to actually try it.)
- recursive 6mo ago
  > It would be very easy to deliver ads via electricity. The utility could require you watch an ad before using more. That does not sound very easy to me. That sounds barely possible.
  - mrguyorama 6mo ago
    It's trivial Lots of poor people have in residence electricity boxes that require prepayment for usage. In the olden days you put a coin in to turn on the power, but nowadays they have apps and digital payment solutions! They might already have ads in those apps...

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]

monooso 6mo ago

Modern cars gather a truly shocking amount of data about their "users", which is then sold to all and sundry, including those wishing to sell you products.

TYPE_FASTER 6mo ago

My LG dryer was using wifi to advertise an extended warranty for itself. Then it broke, maybe I should have bought the warranty? I bought a simpler model without wifi this time.

mgraczyk 6mo ago
What are you talking about, in what way is this supposed to be an argument about ads? It sounds like your dryer broke
- ceejayoz 6mo ago
  The "buy the extended warranty" thing is clearly an ad.