Smart products are elements of product-service-systems which use processors, sensors and communication technologies to collect and communicate data. The most common example is the smart phone which is a multi-functional device that uses its embedded technologies in different ways according to the installed apps, for example as activity tracker, health monitor, shopping assistant, etc. Based on the massive success of the smart phone, the marketing appeal of labels such as “Smart”, or “Connected” or “Internet of Things”, has encouraged the use of smart technology in all sorts of products. Smart product are becoming ubiquitous but is this necessarily a good thing?
Some popular smart products include smart watches, smart meters, smart speakers and smart toys. Smart watches are often marketed as fitness trackers, and claimed to encourage a healthier lifestyle; smart meters are claimed to reduce energy costs by increasing awareness of energy use and improving energy efficiency in the home; smart speakers are the hub of digital entertainment systems that are a convenient way to consume audio-visual entertainment; and smart toys use processors and sensors to bring children’s plaything-things to life. Other examples of smart products include cutlery, grooming products, footwear, and fish tank monitors. It seems that smart is everywhere, even in products where its functionality is questionable.
From an economical perspective, the smart label is a useful marketing device that can lead to an increase in sales and profitability. Smart products are typically sold within a cloud of marketing rhetoric that promises life-changing functionality, for a reasonable cost. But the reality rarely lives up to the expectation. Studies have found that fitness trackers are inefficient at changing lifestyle, use of smart meters only results in small savings, and reports suggest that smart speakers and smart toys behave very suspiciously.
These last two links raise serious concerns. Smart products are more than just gimmicks, they are active systems with a primary function of recording data about the user and sending this data to the manufacturer and/or other third-parties. The recent Cambridge Analytica scandal highlighted the dangers of freely giving away personal data, and in the wake of this, perhaps the use of smart technology should be questioned. Smart technology introduces security risks into the home and public spaces, risks which can be easily exploited. They are not designed to protect the user, only to extract their data. Is the convenience of voice-controlling your entertainment, or having your beauty regime/eating habits monitored and corrected, worth the possible cost of having your personal data shared, your conversations recorded, your privacy invaded?
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