what’s so f#@&ing smart about that?

In the apartment of the future…the fridge tells you, that you are too fat, the shower decides that you should use cold water and your toilet orders unquestioned and automatically a batch of medication, since your urin gets analyzed and you diagnosed with some kind of deficiency. Meanwhile the drone lands with your shopping bag for the week, which somehow avoids crashing into the vacuum robot and puts itself into fridge and cupboard. How fantastic, and all your private dreams and needs are out there - ready to be hacked. Now you need more security. All this cost money, the desires and fears need to be served. To “enjoy” all this, most of us probably will work ever more hours.

Already I hear countless voices telling me this is unavoidable, like a law of nature. The same is being said about “ free markets, progress, social media” and many more things.

But none of this is a law of nature. This ain’t gravity.

Smart would be low maintenance and sustainable. Smart would not eliminate physical movement and self- sufficiency and social contact. There are smart people and smart groups. For me smart can only be what makes my life better. Giving up my privacy, letting a thing decided what I eat and loosing the last social interaction is not smart. Buying groceries and cooking and eating can be fun and relaxing, if I do not have to rush after an ever longer workday. Watching TV does not have to be more relaxing than household activities. And having to live in ever more fear of a big hack feels like a form of new enslavement.

Smart house would probably immediatly rebuild them-self and telling you that from now on you better close all your curtains again by yourself. Real smart cars might instantly turn themselves into busses.

The future is not something that happens independent from us. But the people who want to decide over us, will always pretend that their is no choice.