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You've seen it lately on the news or in harmless jokes about 'losing our jobs to them' from family members on your Whatsapp; Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere now.
Stemming from the simple idea of a computer machine made by humans to help mimic a human's solving ability, AI was created to improve and get our lives moving quickly and seamlessly.
Today, it has many useful perks in our daily lives. There's your internet AI sorting out emails so we don't get spammed with junk or helping you to optimise your smartphone's battery and screen brightness. They are also found in your home security system and vehicles too.
You probably know that today, brands are also putting AI into their home appliance products. So, is it safe, and should we be worried?
The Idea of AI At Home
From the start, the human race has always been focused on moving forward so as to reach a moment of eternal bliss in life.
This "bliss" could mean many things, such as a stress-free life away from war, famine, energy depletion or the pursuit of time and interest. If I am making clear sense, everything is tied back to the chase for freedom. Freedom of what? Why, to do, obtain, think and feel anything we want.
In the past, spending hours and intricacies to create the perfect analogue refrigerator made sense, which can cost a bomb, albeit with great durability. But the society's philosophy back then was different. If you could pay money to make your life easier with these machines, why not?
Soon, alongside a growing middle class is the ideology of a liberal capitalist world. Steadily, with the speed of how fast and accessible information travels, many have become more aware of equality and wealth distribution. The freedom to have a life just nice and comfortably sufficient at the bare minimum was realised.
From there was the need to maintain demand vs supply for goods that would work without depleting a nation's wealth.
Thus when humans found out they could create a computerised machine that would do things with a purpose and with a more analytical approach rather than just being programmed to do from a list of instructions regardless of feedback, this opened up more ideas and opportunities for an efficient world.
And, of course, rather than making many engineers spend hours to perfect a single analogue machine each, one could just programme an AI into many microchips to know how to respond based on analysing its given tasks and call it a day.
AI Today As We Know It
Computer scientists today need only to use data analytics to help with computer coding and create AI programmes embedded into microchips which then go into our appliances. These AI programmes were fitted with millions of data tested from real-life tests by humans.
Before then, you'd need to hear from the experts about how to correctly operate your analogue washing machine to clean your clothes efficiently. Today, your favourite home appliance brand probably has a setting to ensure the careful cleaning of your delicate clothing.
You can also easily get microwave ovens that are carefully programmed to know how to heat your rice perfectly and fluffily without losing any moisture. That's AI for you.
What's even scary is that with the accessibility of AI programmes for content creation, such as Midjourney and ChatGPT, people are starting to believe that AI can and will replace human artists and writers. There's also the bad side of AI-listening machines that many have conspired are found in our smartphones. But that will be a conversation for another day.
The Problem With AI
Back to our topic; if AI in home appliances technically makes it more efficient to produce as well as offer better results, then why do so many of us feel scared?
This can feel like a sensitive approach, as home appliances are supposed to help us lead our quiet, intimate lives in the comfort of our private spaces. Or is it because we want brands to stop assessing every data we have about our lives?
Maybe it's because we are also afraid to lay our dependence on doing certain stuff manually. Imagine not knowing how to do your laundry or drive forever once you own a smart washing machine or vehicle.
Many of us crave our humanity in being able to take action, like cooking an omelette of our own free will for our loved ones, so why should brands feel they need to take away that thought?
What Can We Do About It?
The digital age is so widespread and fast that our simple wish to avoid AI and tech in our lives is now unavoidable. At most, we can only accept how much AI we let in our lives and private space while learning to protect ourselves.
All we can say is to remind ourselves always to be vigilant and get educated on which smart home AI-driven appliances are worth getting for their convenience versus which products are merely just a luxury or muse for now.