Thinking Tech: Thoughts On the Key Technological Trends of Our Times

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By all accounts, we are currently surrounded by infant technologies entering adolescence and revealing their promise of potential. Automated cars, for instance, are gaining popular appeal and are now being released on the market by the likes of Tesla.

Automated cars have racked up over one hundred million miles already. That’s the approximate average of miles human drivers must drive before a fatal accident occurs. And yet, as of present, neither company has reported fatal accidents, and only two aggregate, non-fatal accidents.

This presents us with a uniquely 21st-century problem. What tasks are better kept out of human hands? In a worst-case scenario, driving can result in a loss of human life, an inarguably undesirable possibility that’s reduced to near zero by automated cars. It spurs consideration—and heated debate. The flipside of this debate being that some tasks are better left in human hands. The Facebook fiasco was a case in principle.

Facebook editors were accused of cherry picking trending articles along political lines. This was quickly addressed with machine-learning algorithms that objectively populated the tainted trending list. Shortly after it came to light that the newly minted trending list was rife with fake news, shared more than legitimate news from reputable sources, all in the midst of one of the nation’s most contentious election cycles. Call in the human editors? Not quite. Perhaps we need a hybrid solution? A human and machine pairing.

These are the fundamental quandaries current tech leaves in its wake.

This section explores the emergent technology that’s brewing around us. That includes renewable energy (solar panels and Tesla-powered, fully-automated factories), smart home technology (Google Home, Alexa, Echo), artificial intelligence (machine-curated news, personalization filters, and threat-prediction software), and improvements in cyber warfare.

As you work through this retrospective, consider this important question: How humans can pick up where machines leave off and vice versa?

If you have been watching political tectonics on both sides of the Atlantic, you may have noticed that analysts are increasingly getting it wrong: it being economics, politics, and social trends. The all of it, wrong. Why is this?

Not in Kansas Anymore

We are now deep into a digital transformation, and a new way of thinking and working and living. The business models of our past are faltering. Legacy thinking is virtually unfit for this digital age. The reality is that the conditions within which humanity operates are not what they used to be. Yet, thousands of self-proclaimed experts continue their important work with obsolete methods and mindsets, outdated hardware and software.

A prime example of this is the hysteria that surrounds automation and artificial intelligence. Almost every newspaper and media outlet warns of an apocalyptic future when technology will fracture the employment landscape. As a result, many fear that technology is creating job-stealing robots.

On that score, there are many lessons to be learned from our past.

For example, the industrial revolution taught us that as traditional jobs disappear, we need to ensure that people of all ages are sufficiently educated to prepare and take advantage of the new emerging roles in our immediate future.

Burying our heads in the sand and arming our children with skills for roles that will no longer exist is certainly not the answer. Neither is clinging to business models of the past or recreating the good-old days. The times demand new skills, new mindsets, new competencies, and new institutions.

"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have

said faster horses." – Henry Ford

Stuck in the Past

This backward glance is one of the problems that I encountered with the slogan Make America Great Again. I respect our Presidency. This is not about politics. It’s about vision. It is impossible to go back in time or to recreate the past. Building a better and brighter future is the only way forward.

If we compare the jobs of one hundred years ago to the jobs of the present, we would be stunned by the standard of living and the thankless work. Creative directors, content strategists, app developers and social media managers are a product of our times. The mentality of doing what you love is also a product of the epoch. 

Indeed, hundreds of traditional roles have disappeared over the years, but they have been replaced with new job titles for our digital age.

The Labor Force of Today

The Obama administration had published a report to Congress in February 2016 that was subsequently removed. The Huffington Post and several other leading publishers had also discussed the contents of this report when it was published. I quote from that report:

There is an 83% chance that workers who earn $20 an hour or less could have their jobs replaced by robots in the next five years. Those in the $40 an hour pay range face a 31% chance of having their jobs taken over by the machines. – Report from President Obama’s Whitehouse to Congress

Despite the big scary headlines, we are not running out of work. The challenge that faces society and government is that many people see the available jobs as, on the one hand, unworthy of them. On the other, they see themselves as lacking the skills to qualify.

It is true that the growing demise of middle-skill jobs could cause employment polarization where lower paid workers serve the more affluent without upward mobility. This dynamic would undoubtedly be a step backward. However—once again—the lessons learned from past economic transformations suggest it does not have to be this way.

For example, today it is difficult to imagine that people once blamed the tractor for killing agricultural jobs. In fact, this new machine left an entire generation without work on farms. It also led to the inception of the high school movement, which then led to greater investment in education and ultimately created tremendous prosperity.

Although we often congratulate ourselves for just how far we have come as a society, the truth is that we have the same problems today as we did 200 years ago.

In Sum

Whether they be the Luddites of the early 1800s or the analysts and journalists of today, the issues are essentially the same. The fear of machines, robots, and technology rendering humans obsolete and taking away our jobs.

Make no mistake that many traditional roles we hold dear will slowly disappear. The transition from an analog to a digital world will not be easy. To thrive, we will need to invest in ourselves rather than in things. We will need to secure for ourselves the relevant skills to succeed.

This transition is as it should be for the same reason that we probably don’t want to carry on the work of our grandparents. Not to say preserving a legacy is entirely unwanted, but it is not a sustainable policy for an entire society—especially one in flux like ours.

As technology continues to pervade every aspect of human life, change—within us and around us—will remain the only constant. Sure, there are challenges and difficult decisions ahead of us. Take heart. Our destiny is in our hands, not in the hands of the machines we create. Don’t let any publication tell you otherwise.

Elon Musk is often labeled a dreamer, the closest we could get to a real-life Tony Stark. He is an innovative and motivational leader that uses his passion for technology to repeatedly deliver breathtaking results. Now, he is coalescing the various articulations of his business empire to create comprehensive solutions to climate issues and beyond.

The Frontline Against Climate Change

Upon completing a $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity, Musk secured a future where he can sell electric cars and solar roofs to customers under the Tesla brand. Although a few skeptics deemed this a risky move, his dream big or go home attitude quickly silenced critics by unveiling an entire island run by solar power.

The island of Ta’u in American Samoa is more than 4,000 miles from the United States. Power outages are a regular occurrence in this remote location that heavily relies on diesel generators. It’s the perfect example of technology stepping in to improve the old way of doing things.

Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less, and, by the way, generates electricity? – Elon Musk

Tesla’s microgrid of solar panels will supply nearly 100% of the Ta’u’s 600 residents’ energy requirements. The 5,300 solar panels, along with 60 Tesla Powerpack, batteries illustrate how the future is already here.

These technological advancements will particularly have a positive impact in the developing world. We have already seen this happen with nations skipping telephones and computers by going straight to smartphones. This is another huge reason that mobile browsing has officially overtaken desktop recently.

Renewable energy is an economical solution that could transform developing nations from no power to solar micro-grids within a few years. Removing the dreaded expense that surrounds our current energy infrastructure seems to be where the biggest leap forward has been made.

Sure, Ta’u is an easy test case, with its perfect weather and relatively uncomplicated energy needs. But, it is undeniably a shining example of what is possible. For those who reject the science of climate change, Elon Musk presents an alternative incentive: money. This is a cheaper option that concurrently benefits the planet and its people. How can you argue with savings, high-quality products, and public interest?

Let’s Charge Forward

Why are so many people still doubtful of Musk’s ideas? I don’t understand the pushback. Yes, he is radical, but he consistently proves naysayers wrong. There is something objectively exciting about lowering the carbon footprint on an island where the residents have experienced global warming first hand.

And there is something admirable about tackling a problem that the future administration of one of the world’s most powerful nations deems a fiction. He needs our support to continue his good work. Those of you who believe in the urgency of climate change should support him as one of the few companies championing this cause.

In Sum

The reality is that harkening to the past is good only for inspiration rather than re-creation. We cannot go back in time. We can build a brighter and better future by learning from our mistakes and continuing to evolve together with the public good in mind. To make America great again, we should strive to support those among us who champion the causes we believe in—whatever they may be.

If history has taught us anything at all, it’s that those who dare to throw caution to the wind to change the world are usually the ones who do. After proving that Tesla can power an island for three days without sunlight, it appears that Elon Musk has given us yet another reason to believe.

At the beginning of the year, Mark Zuckerberg set himself an ambitious challenge: visit and meet with people in all 50 states by the end of the year. It didn’t take long for speculation to begin. Some suggested the Facebook CEO was positioning himself to run for president in 2020 or 2024. Tellingly, in a world where the lines between fact and fiction blur increasingly, some believe that Kanye West is also waiting in the wings.

Although the prospect of the ambitious billionaire CEO of the world’s most powerful media company running for president sounds like a plot for the next James Bond movie, Zuckerberg sharing a nearly 6,000-word manifesto with his audience of 1.8 billion should grab your attention.

Zuckerberg’s Manifesto

In the document, Zuckerberg talks about inclusive, online communities that are supportive, safe and informed environments. Surely a manifesto aimed at creating a social infrastructure to bring people together in a global community checks all the right boxes; however, I cannot help wonder whether, in Zuckerberg’s imagination, the planet which we inhabit is merely a real-life version of his favorite video game, Civilization?

What I mean is that Facebook is no panacea. It is guilty of promoting fake news and built on the back of advertising. And Zuckerberg himself is characterized as someone that buys any rival who threatens the future of his platform. When Snapchat resisted his charm and the golden handshake that usually follows a successful acquisition, what did Zuckerberg do? He replicated Snapchat’s features in a bid to neutralize the opposition.

In fact, now LinkedIn finds itself in Mr. Zuckerberg’s crosshairs. He revealed plans to release a new feature that will enable employers to post job listings on their Facebook pages. It seems the social media giant is looking to expand into yet another market, growing more and more to cover every inch of the Internet.

"This new experience will help businesses find qualified people where

they’re already spending their time—on Facebook and on mobile"

– Facebook Blog Post

Is Zuckerberg the Right Messenger?

The message can be spot on, yet can fall on deaf ears if the messenger is incorrect. As I look to Zuckerberg’s past, his actions, his attitude toward authority and businesses, I question whether he is the right person to deliver the message of solidarity, truth, and community.

If any of us held the prestige and status of being one of the most successful people on the planet, wouldn’t we want to make a difference? In many ways, it’s ironic that those who live socially and politically inactive lives seldom bear the brunt of criticism; yet when someone who is trying to use their money to effect positive change, we tend instantly to target them with skepticism. Zuckerberg could very well be the best messenger, solely because there is no one like him.

The biggest obstacle the manifesto must overcome is the separation between word and deed. To launch a battle against isolationism while living in isolation on a 700-acre estate in Hawaii is a hard sell. To attain full effect, the messenger must embody the message.

In Sum

When you bear in mind Facebook’s acquisition frenzy and technological mimicry, the manifesto, coming from an advertisement-driven business, can reek of moralistic globalization for the purpose of turning a profit.

I’m not saying that’s the case. I don’t know what’s going on in Zuckerberg’s head. Nevertheless, I applaud his words, and I hope that he will come to embody the message he carries. For now, there is a conflict to mitigate between past actions and present promises. I don’t think I am alone in being the skeptic.

For these reasons, I suspect that LinkedIn has little to worry about. Facebook is not a professional platform and never will be. LinkedIn is a professional environment where users tend to eschew politics and pleasure beyond business. Overlapping a career tool and Facebook will surely raise concerns and stonewalls for users wary of mixing the two.

LinkedIn’s biggest strength is the fact it is a professional network of users. With the recent update, I’d hate to see LinkedIn try to morph into a Facebook clone. In the future, that might discourage users and raise eyebrows when LinkedIn tries to do good, much as Zuckerberg’s manifesto has done.

It is now possible to play any song that enters our head by simply asking. As a man who grew up with physical media, I was accustomed to traveling to a record store to buy an album and waiting until I got home before I could play it. So I still struggle with the concept of a subscription that grants me instant access to 30 million tunes, with algorithmically tailored recommendations. This service and other digital innovations make being a child or a parent very different than it once was.

As a parent, it is easy to see why Apple Music and Spotify are offering discounted packages aimed at families to ensure that the whole household has access to unlimited music. However, it seems that someone forgot about parental controls. While exploring the settings, I realized that I could not filter out music with explicit language. As we begin to put voice-activated devices in our children’s bedrooms, a lack of filters to protect them from explicit lyrics seems disturbingly reckless.

The American Academy of Pediatrics released this study discussing the impact of music, lyrics, and music videos on children and youth. Here is an abstract from that study:

Music plays an important role in the socialization of children and adolescents. Popular music is present almost everywhere, and it is easily available through the radio, various recordings, the Internet, and new technologies, allowing adolescents to hear it in diverse settings and situations, alone or shared with friends. Parents often are unaware of the lyrics to which their children are listening because of the increasing use of downloaded music and headphones. Research on popular music has explored its effects on schoolwork, social interactions, mood and affect, and particularly behavior. The effect that popular music has on children’s and adolescents’ behavior and emotions is of paramount concern. Lyrics have become more explicit in their references to drugs, sex, and violence over the years, particularly in certain genres. A teenager’s preference for certain types of music could be correlated or associated with certain behaviors. As with popular music, the perception and the effect of music-video messages are important, because research has reported that exposure to violence, sexual messages, sexual stereotypes, and use of substances of abuse in music videos might produce significant changes in behaviors and attitudes of young viewers. Pediatricians and parents should be aware of this information. Furthermore, with the evidence portrayed in these studies, it is essential for pediatricians and parents to take a stand regarding music lyrics.

– The American Academy of Pediatrics

I decided to look deeper into this, reviewing every major music streaming service for this specific, family-friendly feature: explicit language filters. 

Amazon Prime Music

Having recently purchased an Amazon Echo, my entire family quickly embraced the idea of asking Alexa to answer almost any question that popped into their heads. That made me a little nervous, but I placed trust in the algorithm. It soon became apparent, though, that when playing songs, my house could all of a sudden flood with curse words I do not want my children to hear.

For example, my 8-year-old recently asked his Amazon Echo Alexa play the song Sexyback by Justin Timberlake and it started playing the Explicit version. I stopped it after hearing a few words and asked it to play the Non-explicit version. Alexa wouldn’t understand despite my trying various combinations of commands. Now, even if there were an appropriate command that would instruct Alexa to play the clean version of a song, the fact that the Explicit version was the default setting was extremely troubling especially since these voice-activated devices are home-community devices accessible by everybody in the household including children.

The Echo is touted as a centrally connected hub for the home, to be used by the whole family. But it is not precisely family-friendly. Alexa understands hundreds of commands but, unfortunately, Alexa, turn off explicit lyrics, is not one of them. It is begging for a parental filter.

Spotify

The introduction of a family plan price drop is a no-brainer for most families. Up to six family members of all ages and sensibilities can have access to unlimited music streaming, yet there is so sign of an explicit language filter or family-friendly policy on this platform either.

Apple Music

Apple’s explicit content filter is an excellent example of family friendly. Music, videos, podcasts, and even news are all successfully managed by an explicit content filter. If Apple Music offers a Radio Edit version of your chosen song, it will always take preference over the explicit version.

Turning the feature on is relatively easy. You can even create a 4-digit passcode to prevent your tech-savvy kids from disabling the restrictions.

Google Play Music

Google’s music streaming service offers a halfway house of family-friendly tunes. There is an option to block explicit songs, but this feature only applies to songs played on its radio stations. The filter does not work when playing songs from the library of on-demand music.

Pandora

Pandora’s streaming apps allow parents to disable explicit content. But there is no lock or passcode. As soon as you leave the room, nothing prevents your mischievous child from deactivating the filter.

In Sum

Placing a check in a box marked filter explicit songs is easy. Updating the platform to include this option should be too. For those streaming services that don’t have this option, I think it is a missed opportunity. Being a user and a parent, my priorities feel like an afterthought.

Major tech companies desperately trying to win over the hearts and minds of family members need to think more like parents. Integrated smart tech in the home is already a Trojan horse, fraught with security issues. If you cannot trust tech companies to anticipate basic parental priorities, like no bad language, what else is missed?

LG and Sony decided to join Samsung in not making any 3D-enabled televisions in 2017. The announcement will quickly render every 3D Blu-ray, obsolete. Although at this point, the very mention of physical media feels like harkening to a previous era. And yet, over 6, 500 fans have signed a petition desperately imploring LG to revive 3D in 2018.

The 3D Journey

Enjoying 3D movies in the comfort of one’s home was initially very appealing. The biggest problem is that most manufacturers did not implement it correctly and many of the films were merely 2D with a few gimmicky scenes tagged on. Ultimately, a lack of quality content destroyed any enthusiasm for this technology.

Moreover, adoption is heavily reliant on simplicity and not looking like a fool when using it. Nobody wants to be the guy walking around a supermarket wearing a pair of Google Glasses or a Bluetooth cell phone headset. That’s why we shouldn’t be too surprised that families weren’t too keen on the idea of wearing silly glasses together when watching a film.

Affordability is another fundamental element to the success of any product. Glasses that cost nearly $100 a pair compounded by an expensive subscription to a cable package left most people thinking: Do I really need this in my life?

Sometimes the failure to adopt a technology is attributed to timeliness. The technology was ahead of its time, some will say. 3D has desperately been trying to achieve mainstream adoption around every five years since the fifties. But the future is leaning toward augmented reality and VR, so maybe this really is the end of the line for 3D in our homes?

3D TV Had a Good Run

At present, the TV industry is focused a new range of technology and gimmicks, such as 4K, HDR, and ubiquitous smart features. This range of technologies marks a stark departure from what the TV industry once was, and from our traditional viewing habits. How often do you watch a television show at its scheduled time or even look at the ads, which cost millions of dollars to air? It is already nearly unthinkable not to view our favorite show when we want to, free from ads.

In fact, the TV set is no longer the focal point in living rooms and households; the smartphone is. These changes are enabling YouTube to take viewers away from the TV sets and onto their mobile devices. This fact of digital culture is a takeaway that VR and AR sponsors should note.

There are more than a few parallels between these new and old technologies. For example, expensive hardware that can cause nausea represent two huge drawbacks that will undoubtedly prevent mainstream adoption.

The fad of Curved TV sets is expected to meet a similar fate sooner rather than later. Once again, the combination of being overpriced and impractical ensures that consumers fail to see the value.

For example, when you purchase a TV, the number one item on your list of requirements is picture quality. Curved sets failed to offer any enhancements in picture quality leaving users feeling underwhelmed once the hype passed.

In Sum

This cycle of being wowed by incoming technology in theory and underwhelmed when it is on the market is so recursive as to be predictable.

For ten months of the year, every tech news site will heavily promote rumors about the next iPhone spec. Once it is available, however, they spend the remaining two months explaining why it is just like the last update.

As someone that has been around the block a time or two and seen people fooled into buying the same music album or movie 3-5 times, my advice is to adopt a wait-and-see approach.

Of course, the early adopters among you probably won’t listen. And that’s fine. Just don’t complain when the product isn’t what you expected. That’s the burden of being one of the first. As for the rest of us, we’ll step back and wait until the fruit ripens.

In these uncertain times, cyber security is predictably rising to the top of everyone’s agenda. A reactive approach to fraud, data breaches, and even cyber propaganda no longer suffices. With spies warning that elections are at risk from cyber-attacks aimed at destabilizing democratic procedure, it is evident that a proactive approach is necessary to protect our future in an always-online digital world.

Government Action Against Cyber-Crime

The British government is preparing for such challenges by launching a new cyber curriculum. It is hoped that these extracurricular clubs will encourage citizens to learn cutting-edge, cyber-security skills to ensure the nation is protected from what is increasingly every nations’ biggest virtual threat.

The crime figures that are often reported by news agencies do not account for the growing rates of cyber-crime. Street crime and physical offenses are usually centerpieces of crime statistics. However, the absence of cyber-crimes from any official report is conspicuous and possibly dangerous.

The public has an inaccurate sense of where their greatest threats are coming from. For example, it is more likely that you know someone affected by card cloning or cyber-fraud than material theft. In the UK, it is already becoming common knowledge that cybercrime has overtaken traditional crime.

Best Practices for a New Age

Users typically cast aside any streetwise vigilance when they go online. However, the reality is that upgrading our security precautions online should be paramount. Somewhere along the way, criminals got tech savvy, and we need to meet the challenge, particularly since digital transformation encompasses more and more of our lives, and our privacy.

Although software updates, password management or any form of online security responsibility might feel like too much hassle, it is probably your best defense against being another crime statistic.

User Education Is Essential

In light of widespread breaches, CEOs are finally waking up to their online responsibilities. The increasing threat of online attacks and losing electronic data is beginning to affect companies where it hurts.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre told the BBC that they are proactive by providing real-time cyber-threat information to 3,000 organizations from over 20 different industries, offering incident management handling and fostering technical innovation.

Despite online security initiatives, the weakest area of any cyber-defense typically comes from the users. Education is essential to ensure students have the required new skills to fill emerging security gaps. Additionally, there needs to be a focus on educating users on how to stay safe when using the Internet. Spear-Phishing email attacks are still tricking users into clicking links or downloading attachments that contain viruses or malware.

In Sum

Isn’t it time that we started taking more responsibility for our online actions? Or at least operate with the same vigilance that we naturally use in our physical world?

Most people do not think twice about using their work email address for personal communication, or about what information they are sharing with the world on social media. This habit must change. Governments, business and users all need to work together to ensure our safety. We urgently need a cyber-ethic.

Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility.

Faraday Future revealed their intention to rival Tesla at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The combination of unrealistic goals and a questionable financial history suggests that Elon Musk will not be losing too much sleep over the rivalry of a company struggling to compete in the market. Especially since Tesla recently announced an ambitious enhanced autopilot update that if successful will revolutionize the automated automobile industry.

Coming of Age

Anyone excited about what technological advancements or trends will dominate need look no further than Musk’s fleet of electric cars. More so now that Tesla has announced a revolutionary update coming this week for the first 1,000 test drivers and a handful of Tesla owners.

The enhanced autopilot feature will automatically match your speed with the surrounding traffic conditions or change lanes without any instruction from the driver. These innovations capture the imaginations of tech-lovers and will soon do the same for the wider public.

New rev for Autopilot HW2 rolling out Mon to first 1000 & to rest of fleet in shadow mode. Also improves HW1 and enables Ludicrous+ – @elonmusk – Jan 8

For those who fall in the rest of the fleet category, the intriguing shadow mode allows the computer to simulate how it would handle a range of real-life scenarios, should the update be fully activated. This new range of testing in a live environment will gather further data to improve automated performance. It will likely also add fodder to the claim that human error rather than technology is the culprit behind most automobile accidents.

The outcome of the tests conducted in shadow mode could see Musk authorize the big switchover from shadow to active mode for all cars by the end of this week, making the next seven days a pivotal moment for the automotive industry, whatever your opinion of automated cars.

"If all looks good, HW2 Autopilot functionality will switch from

shadow to active mode by end of week for cars beyond initial 1000"

– @elonmusk - Jan 8

A Change in the Climate of Innovation

Tesla was plagued by production delays and fell short of its own forecast for this technology. Yet, they are still growing by 62% year-over-year. There is a valid argument that much of that success is attributable to controversial tax incentives. In the changing political landscape, many people question what will happen when said incentives expire.

Another area where Tesla has apparently shifted gears is customer complaints on social media, particularly Twitter. At this point, business leaders could learn a trick or two from Elon Musk’s proactive style. Tesla doesn’t treat social media like a tool exclusively for marketing. It is a customer touch-point. Musk seems to understand that the real value of social media is humanization and education.

This attitude is indispensable for a company pioneering big and arguably uncomfortable changes.

Every January the world focuses its attention on the exhibition halls of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The event traditionally forecasts what we can expect from the tech industry over the next 12 months. This year, Amazon’s Alexa-powered products dominated the show.

A Smart Home Mainstay

Amazon had no official presence at CES, yet a number of manufacturers promoted new and innovative products integrated to Amazon’s Echo and Alexa, above and beyond Apple’s Home Kit and both Google and Microsoft’s smart home technology, respectively.

In the past, Apple and Google experienced royal treatment at CES. The change this year marks a significant shift in the landscape. That is, the tech industry and—more importantly—the people creating the products of tomorrow are turning to the Amazon platform for innovation and business.

Pretty soon Alexa will allow you to control an array of technologies, such as refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, and even vacuums. As more home appliances and items have chips embedded into them, the range of products under voice-control will increase exponentially.

For now, you can use voice-controlled technology to manage your home, check the news, play music, watch movies, keep track of purchases, and perform basic domestic tasks. These functions are simple, and commonplace. And yet, for many people, the artificiality of speaking with a machine is unsettling, and a deterrent.

After this year’s CES, it is clear that Alexa has done away with much of the skepticism surrounding smart home technology, to the benefit of all smart home providers. Despite this, some tech behemoths have been slow to catch up: Apple, for one. But perhaps Apple is rightly cautious.

Cybersecurity and Safety

For the last few years, and this year especially, we’ve been bombarded by news regarding cyber-intrusions, hacking, and security breaches at the highest levels of government and industry. Now Amazon and the like are inciting us to digitalize our most intimate space, making even more of our lives available to unwelcome visitors.

And there are more material concerns beyond data. For example, could someone hack a smart toaster and overload it to start a fire? Or equally, could a burglar monitor your home presence to plan the perfect moment to strike via cameras or mics?

Although these scenarios might appear dramatic, they aren’t impossible. To preclude such unfortunate events, we need adequate security. I don’t see enough pundits having these conversations.

We can’t stop this technology. It’s here. All we can do is influence how it connects to our homes, how it exposes users, and the scope of its presence. To do this, we need talk about protection and safety in concrete terms.

In Sum

CNET tallied the products on display at this year’s CES, subsumed under different categories. In the smart home products category, the results overwhelmingly showed Amazon Alexa dominating, with 33 enabled products. Apple HomeKit/Siri trailed behind with 18 products. And Google Assistant/Home with five.

Early results suggest that Amazon is leading the charge on smart home technology. More broadly, the results show that voice-controlled, screenless tech is penetrating the market fast. Very fast. That’s why we should be vigilant about security as more devices connect us and our homes to the Internet.